Copper Removal from Industrial Wastewater Using Acrylic-Based Wheat Bran/Montmorillonite Hydrogel

Adsorption method has been considered as one of the most effective approaches for removal of heavy metals, as hazardous pollutants, in water resources.
In this study, a hydrogel nanocomposite based on the acrylic acid, wheat bran, and montmorinollite was synthesized using in-situ polymerization and utilized for the removal of Cu cations from aqueous solution. The effect of various parameters such as initial Cu concentration, pH, and amount of montmorillonite on the amount of adsorbed ion was investigated. The adsorption behavior of the nanocomposite hydrogel was studied using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models.
Findings: Increasing initial Cu concentration tended to increased adsorption capacity of the hydrogel. The maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent occurred in pH of 7.0, and 3% weight nano-sized montmorinollite in hydrogel structure. The Langmuir model showed a correlation coefficient of R2 = 0.99.
The synthesized acrylic-based montmorillonite hydrogel has a considerable capacity in Cu removal from industrial wastewater.