Remove of lead and cadmium metal ions from aqueous solution using nanoporous MCM-48 and modified NH2-MCM-48 adsorbents

In this study, nanoporous silica adsorbent of MCM-48 was synthesized. The adsorbent capacity of heavy metal was increased by modification of the surface with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane. Silica adsorbents are very effective in heavy metal adsorption.
In the present study, removal of Pb (II) and Cd (II) heavy metal ions from aqueous solution was carried out using MCM-48 and NH2-MCM-48 modified nanoporous adsorbents in a batch system. The effect of adsorbent dosage, solution pH and contact time were studied. The equilibrium data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms by nonlinear regression analysis.
Findings: The maximum adsorption capacities of NH2-MCM-48 for Cd (II) and Pb (II) were found to be 62.07 and 108.16 mg/g, respectively. Changing the level of each variable resulted in change of adsorption capacity of the adsorbents.
The results of this study indicated that modification of MCM-48 to synthesize NH2-MCM-48 will increase the adsorbent capacity for Cd (II) and Pb (II) ions and this compound can be used as an effective adsorbent for the adsorption of metal ions.