Sodium dodecylsulfate-layered double hydroxide and its use in the adsorption of 17β-estradiol in wastewater

Modified Mg(3)Al layered double hydroxide (LDH) intercalated with dodecylsulfate anion composites, which were designated as SDS-LDH composites, were synthesized by coprecipitation. The samples were characterized using SEM, EDX, FT-IR, zeta potential analysis, and XRD. The results showed that the SDS-LDH composites contain a thicker and larger porous interconnected network than inorganic LDH due to the enlarged inter-layer distance. The outstanding adsorption performance of SDS-LDH composites toward 17β-estradiol (E2) was investigated under different conditions, including solution pH, adsorbent dosage, ion strength, reaction time, and temperature. When the solution pH was 7 and the adsorbent dosage was 2 g L(−1), the removal rate of E2 reached the maximum at 94%, whereas inorganic LDH displayed a poor E2 removal rate of 10%. The presence of various ions (Na(+), SO(4)(2−), CI(−), and H(2)PO(4)(−)) in aqueous solution exerted no significant adverse effects on the adsorption process. The adsorption equilibrium was reached within 20 min, and the adsorption fitted well with the pseudo-second-order model and the Freundlich isotherm. The thermodynamic test revealed that the adsorption process was spontaneous and endothermic. Phosphorus was selected as the index for evaluating the adsorption capacity of SDS-LDH composites for inorganic ions. The removal rates of total phosphorus and PO(4)(3−) were 43.71% and 55.93% for SDS-LDH composites at 2 g L(−1). The removal rate of PO(4)(3−) reached up to 85% when the contact time was 120 min and the dosage was 3 g L(−1) for SDS-LDH composites, which were approximately close to those of inorganic LDH of 30 min and 2 g L(−1), respectively. This finding indicates that the removal capacity of SDS-LDH composites for PO(4)(3−) decreased after the dodecylsulfate anions intercalated into the interlayer. The composites retained their high efficiency and stability after desorption and regeneration with alkali treatment. This study demonstrated that SDS-LDH composites are a promising adsorbent for the recovery and abatement of trace-level E2 in secondary effluents of wastewater treatment plants.