Adsorption performance and mechanism for removal of Cd(II) from aqueous solutions by D001 cation-exchange resin

The adsorption and desorption properties of D001 resin for Cd(II) has been investigated. Batch studies were carried out with various pH, contact time, temperature and initial concentrations, and then column studies were conducted. The results showed that the optimal adsorption condition was at pH value of 3.0 in HAc-NaAc medium. The resin exhibited a high Cd(II) uptake of 185.8 mg/g at 298 K. The apparent activation energy Ea is 5.05 kJ/mol and the sorption thermodynamic parameters are ΔH = 21.1 kJ/mol, ΔS = 0.122 kJ/(mol K) and ΔG298K = -15.3 kJ/mol, which indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Compared with the Freundlich isotherm, the sorption of Cd(II) obeys the Langmuir isotherm better. The Thomas model was delineated here to predict the breakthrough curves based on the experimental column study data. Furthermore, the resin could be regenerated through the desorption of the Cd(II) anions using 1 mol/L HCl solution and could be reused to adsorb again. The infrared spectroscopic technique was undertaken. Compared with other absorbents, D001 resin was relatively low cost and was effective in removing Cd(II) ions.