SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF NANO COMPOSITE ACTIVATED BENTONITE FOR DECONTAMINATING HEAVY METAL FORM WASTE WATER

Abstract

Bentonite, extremely plentiful normal clay, has been considered as a potential absorbent for expelling contaminations from water and wastewater. Disregarding that, the viable use of bentonite for water treatment is restricted because of small surface area. Thus, the focus of this study was coordinated to the change of some physical and chemical properties of bentonite to increase its adsorption capacity. The modification of raw bentonite was carried out by three chemical methods converted calcium bentonite to sodium bentonite then acid activation (AA) by sulfuric acid (3M) and finally combined activated bentonite to Fe3O4 nano composite was prepared by chemical co-precipitation method to increase surface area. The characterization of the modified bentonite clay was carried out by Braunneur – Emmet – Teller (BET) method for surface area, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for morphological analysis of modified bentonite and Fourier transformation infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy for the determination of the effect of acid attack. The increase in surface area of the modified bentonite was 25.259 m²/g, 31.86 m²/g, 62.194 m²/g and 107.998 m²/g by Ca-bentonite, Na-bentonite, AA and nano composite bentonite, respectively. The microscopic images obtained through SEM showed that the structure of the modified clay has become more porous, offering additional adsorption sites enhancing the surface properties of bentonite.