Dynamic Adsorption Properties of Insoluble Humic Acid/Tourmaline Composite Particles for Iron and Manganese in Mine Wastewater

Iron- and manganese-contaminated mine water is widespread around the world, and economical and efficient remediation has become a priority. Insoluble humic acid/tourmaline composite particles (IHA/TM) were prepared by combining inorganic tourmaline (TM) with the natural organic polymer humic acid (HA), and the effects of different calcination temperatures and calcination times of TM and IHA on the adsorption of Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) were analyzed. Based on the microscopic characterization of Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Brunnauer–Emmet–Teller (BET), X-ray diffractometer (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), the simultaneous adsorption performance of IHA/TM on Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) was studied through dynamic adsorption tests, and a dynamic adsorption model was established. Adsorption regeneration experiments were carried out to further investigate the effectiveness of the composite particles in practical applications. The results show that, when the calcination temperature was 330 °C and the calcination time was 90 min, the removal rates of iron and manganese by the IHA/TM composite particles reached 99.85% and 99.51%, respectively. The curves for penetration of Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) ions into the IHA/TM composite particles were affected by the bed height, flow rate and influent concentration. Decreasing the flow rate, decreasing the influent concentration, or increasing the bed height prolonged the operation time of the dynamic column. If the bed height was too low, the penetration point was reached before the expected treatment was achieved, and when the bed height was too high, the removal of Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) was slow, and the utilization rate of the adsorbent was also reduced. If the flow rate was too low, longitudinal remixing easily occurred in the column. However, when the flow rate was too high, the speed of Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) ions passing through the adsorption layer increased, which reduced the total amount of adsorption. The increase in influent concentration not only reduces the removal rate, but also greatly shortens the total operation time of the dynamic column and reduces the treatment water. The dynamic process for the adsorption of Fe(2+) and Mn(2+) by IHA/TM was fitted best by the Thomas model. The adsorption column was continuously regenerated five times, and the results show that the IHA/TM composite particles were suitable for iron and manganese removal from mine wastewater. The research results will provide a reference for the effectiveness of the IHA/TM composite particles in practical applications.