Adsorption of tannic acid from aqueous solution onto surfactant-modified zeolite

Surfactant-modified zeolites (SMZs) with various loadings of cetylpyridinium bromide (CPB) were used as adsorbents to remove tannic acid (TA) from aqueous solution. The TA adsorption efficiencies for natural zeolite and various SMZs were compared. SMZ presented higher TA adsorption efficiency than natural zeolite, and SMZ with higher loading amount of CPB exhibited higher TA adsorption efficiency. The adsorption of TA onto SMZ as a function of contact time, initial adsorbate concentration, temperature, ionic strength, coexisting Cu(II) and solution pH was investigated. The adsorbents before and after adsorption were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The adsorption kinetics of TA onto SMZ with CPB bilayer coverage (SMZ-CBC) followed a pseudo-second-order model. The equilibrium adsorption data of TA onto SMZ-CBC were well represented by Langmuir, Redlich-Peterson and Sips isotherm models. The calculated thermodynamic parameters indicated that TA adsorption onto SMZ-CBC was spontaneous and exothermic. The TA adsorption capacity for SMZ-CBC slightly decreased with increasing ionic strength but significantly increased with increasing Cu(II) concentration. The TA adsorption capacity for SMZ-CBC was relatively high at solution pH 4.0-7.0, and decreased with an increase in solution pH from 7.0 to 8.5. The mechanisms controlling TA adsorption onto SMZ-CBC at solution pH 5.5 include electrostatic attraction, hydrogen bonding and organic partitioning.