Eco-friendly zeolite/alginate microspheres for Ni ions removal from aqueous solution: Kinetic and isotherm study

Abstract Initial Preparation of eco-friendly, reusable, and highly adsorptive materials for heavy metals consider a great challenge in the field of wastewater treatment. Therefore, in this study, we use ecofriendly materials such as zeolite and natural polymer (Alginate) to prepare a special nanocomposite in the form of microspheres to use as sorbent material for nickel Ions Ni (II). Using different analytical methods, we investigated the morphological, molecular structure, and crystalline structure of the prepared nanocomposites samples. Batch experiments for the adsorption of Ni(II) onto prepared microspheres samples were carried out and the effect of adsorption parameters (initial dose and contact time) were reported. Kinetic and isotherm models were employed to evaluate the sorption mechanisms. The obtained results indicate that the prepared microspheres demonstrate great potential in the efficient removal of nickel ions with maximum removal efficiency reached 98%. Kinetic study indicates the conformity of the pseudo-first-order model to the adsorption reaction and an excellent validity of the Freundlich model to the sorption process. Furthermore, the prepared microspheres can be washed, activated, and reused 5 times with the same efficacy without any change in their morphological and chemical structure.