Investigation of the transport characteristics of Pb(II) in sand-bone char columns

Pb(II) leakage from batteries, dyes, construction materials, and gasoline threaten human health and environmental safety, and suitable adsorption materials are vitally important for Pb(II) removal. Bone char is an outstanding adsorbent material for water treatment, and the effectiveness in Pb(II) removing need to be verified. In this paper, the transport characteristics of Pb(II) in columns filled with a sand and bone char mixture were studied at the laboratory scale, and the influences of the initial concentration, column height, inlet flow rate, and competing ion Cu(II) on Pb(II) adsorption and transport were analyzed. The Thomas and Dose-Response models were used to predict the test results, and the mechanisms of Pb(II) adsorption on bone char were investigated. The results showed that the adsorption capacity of the bone char increased with increasing column height and decreased with increasing initial Pb(II) concentration, flow rate, and Cu(II) concentration. The maximum adsorption capacity reached 38.466 mg/g and the saturation rate was 95.8% at an initial Pb(II) concentration of 200 mg/L, inlet flow rate of 4 mL/min, and column height of 30 cm. In the competitive binary system, the higher the Cu(II) concentration was, the greater the decreases in the breakthrough and termination times, and the faster the decrease in the Pb(II) adsorption capacity of the bone char. The predicted results of the Dose-Response model agreed well with the experimental results and were significantly better than those of the Thomas model. The main mechanisms of Pb(II) adsorption on bone char include a surface complexation reaction and the decomposition-replacement-precipitation of calcium hydroxyapatite (CaHA). Based on selectivity, sensitivity, and cost analyses, it can be concluded that bone char is a potential adsorbent for Pb(II)-containing wastewater treatment.