Fabrication of a low-cost adsorbent supported zero-valent iron by using red mud for removing Pb(ii) and Cr(vi) from aqueous solutions

In this study, a granular red mud supported zero-valent iron (ZVI@GRM) was successfully prepared and was used to remove Pb(ii) and Cr(vi) from aqueous solution. Zero-valent iron (ZVI) was synthesized by direct reduction of iron oxide in red mud by maize straw as a reductant at 900 °C in an anoxic atmosphere. The technical characterization (SEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR and BET) revealed that ZVI@GRM was loaded with zero-valent iron and contained different size pores. The factors of adsorption experiments include initial concentration, contact time, pH and temperature. The Pb(ii) and Cr(vi) removal by ZVI@GRM well fitted the pseudo-second-order kinetics model and the removal of heavy metals was an endothermic process. Essentially, Pb(ii) was transformed to precipitate forms (Pb(0), Pb (OH)(2), or 2PbCO(3)·Pb (OH)(2)) and Cr(vi) was converted to Cr (OH)(3) or Cr(3+)/Fe(3+) hydroxides. The maximum removal capacity for Pb(ii) and Cr(vi) by ZVI@GRM was 149.42 and 37.14 mg g(−1). ZVI@GRM was a low-cost material and had outstanding performance and great potential in wastewater treatment.