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Title
Sphagnum moss peat as a potential sorbent and reductant for chromium (VI) removal from aqueous solutions
Authors
Catalin Balan Doina Bilba and Matei Macoveanu
Received
February 26, 2009
Published
Volume 43 Issue 1-3 January-March
Keywords
sphagnum moss peat, Cr (VI), sorption, reduction
Abstract
Batch sorption experiments were carried out for the removal of chromium (VI) ions from aqueous solutions using the Romanian sphagnum moss peat. Similar to many biomaterials, peat removes Cr (VI) by a mechanism of “sorption-coupled reduction”, involving both the sorption, in acidic media, of the hydrochromate anion on the peat surface and the reduction, in the solution, of toxic Cr (VI) to less toxic Cr (III). Reduction and sorption processes were investigated as a function of the initial pH of the solution, peat dose, metal ion concentration and contact time. Removal of Cr (VI) is enhanced by lower pH values (pH = 1-2), while a peat dose of 8 g/L assures an almost complete removal of Cr (VI) from solutions with an initial concentration of 50 mg/L. The experimental results point out the potential of sphagnum moss peat, an available natural material, in removing Cr (VI) from wastewater.
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