Experimental and Theoretical Study of Cu (II) Ion Adsorption in a Fixed Bed Filled by Hydrogel Beads with Radial Feeding

Removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions was carried out using a synthesized hydrogel polymeric made by sodium alginate/zeolite/chitosan. At first, a batch experiment was done to determine the diffusion coefficient. And then a column with radial feeding was designed and made. The continuous experiment was carried out with a feed by 500 ppm concentration, a flow rate of 16 cm3/min, and hydrogel beads with a radius of 1.5 mm during the 97 min. Mass transfer and sphere diffusion equations were extracted in the bed and solved numerically. Concentration profile versus time derived from this model. To evaluate the model the results were compared by experimental data. The results show that the model has 9.8% error. The effects of parameters including concentration (350, 500, and 700 ppm), a flow rate of 30, 16, 7.5 mL /min, and particle radius of 1.1.5 and 2mm were investigated via model. The results showed that with increasing initial concentration, the lifetime of the bed was increased from 70 minutes to 76 minutes. As the flow rate increased, the filling time of the column decreased from 167 minutes to 37 minutes, and as the radius increased, the life span of the column has not sensible changes.