[Removal of Sulfate Ions from Aqueous Solution by Adsorption with Hydrotalcite- like Composite]

Hydrotalcite-like composite synthesized by co-precipitation method was used as an adsorbent to remove the sulfate ions in aqueous solution. XRD, FT-IR , SEM and EDS elemental analysis were used to clarify the structure and composition of the hydrotalcite- like composite. The influences of time, initial pH value and coexisting ions on adsorption performance were investigated. The result showed the material was the composite of zinc aluminum nitrate hydrotalcite-like compounds and zinc aluminum phenylalanine hydrotalcite-like compounds. Hydrotalcite-like composite had a good performance in adsorption of sulfate ions, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 52.75 mg · g⁻¹. The data fitted pseudo-second order kinetic model best, which indicated that chemical adsorption was the rate-limiting step. Freundlich isotherm was more suitable to describe the adsorption process, and this meant the adsorption of sulfate ions by hydrotalcite-like composite was multilayered adsorption. Thermodynamic parameters showed that the adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous at room temperature. Hydrotalcite-like composite adsorbed sulfate ions mainly through ion exchange, electrostatic force and physical adsorption. The experimental results showed that the hydrotalcite-like composite had potential for sulfate ion removal in the aqueous solution.