Effective aqueous chromate treatment using triethanolamine anacardate coated magnetic nanoparticles

Low-cost adsorbents derived from agricultural by-products incorporated magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) are promising for wastewater treatment. They are always preferred due to their great performance and easy separation. This study reports cobalt superparamagnetic (CoFe₂O₄) nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated with triethanolamine (TEA) based surfactants from cashew nut shell liquid, namely TEA-CoFe₂O₄, for the removal of chromium (VI) ions from aqueous solutions. To have detailed characteristics of the morphology and structural properties, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) were employed. The fabricated TEA-CoFe₂O₄ particles exhibit soft and superparamagnetic properties, which make the nanoparticles easily recycled by using a magnet. Chromate adsorption on the TEA-CoFe₂O₄ nanomaterials reached an optimal efficiency of 84.3% at pH = 3 with the initial adsorbent dose of 10 g/L and chromium (VI) concentration of 40 mg/L. The TEA-CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles can maintain the effective adsorption of chromium (VI) ion (by 29% of efficiency loss) and retain the magnetic separation using a magnet up to three cycles of the regeneration, which promise a high potential of this low-cost adsorbent for long-term treatment of heavy metal ions from polluted waters.