{"title":"Enhanced Mercury Removal from Water Using Fe3O4/MgO Composite Adsorbent","authors":"Gurunanthanan Vijayakumar, Kapila Bandara Wijayaratne, Chamanei Sandamali Perera","doi":"10.1007/s11270-025-08088-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Mercury (Hg) contamination in water sources is a critical environmental and public health concern, arising from industrial activities, mining, and improper waste disposal. This study investigates the removal of Hg(II) ions using Fe₃O₄/MgO nanocomposite, a sol–gel-synthesized adsorbent. Structural analysis through X-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed the successful formation of cubic Fe₃O₄ and MgO phases, with post-adsorption peak shifts indicating Hg(II) binding. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a spherical rod-like morphology with an average particle size of 82.9 nm, providing abundant active sites for adsorption. Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) analysis demonstrated a magnetic saturation value of 11.65 emu·g⁻<sup>1</sup>, ensuring easy separation and recovery of the adsorbent. Optimal adsorption conditions were identified as an adsorbent dosage of 0.25 g·L⁻<sup>1</sup>, initial Hg(II) concentration of 400 mg·L⁻<sup>1</sup>, pH 9, and a 120-min contact time, resulting in a high adsorption capacity of 1554.77 mg·g⁻<sup>1</sup> and 97.17% removal efficiency. Adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting monolayer adsorption, while kinetic analysis indicated a pseudo-second-order mechanism governed by chemisorption. These findings highlight the potential of Fe₃O₄/MgO as an efficient and recyclable adsorbent for Hg(II) removal in water treatment applications.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":808,"journal":{"name":"Water, Air, & Soil Pollution","volume":"236 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Water, Air, & Soil Pollution","FirstCategoryId":"6","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11270-025-08088-7","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"环境科学与生态学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) contamination in water sources is a critical environmental and public health concern, arising from industrial activities, mining, and improper waste disposal. This study investigates the removal of Hg(II) ions using Fe₃O₄/MgO nanocomposite, a sol–gel-synthesized adsorbent. Structural analysis through X-ray Diffraction (XRD) confirmed the successful formation of cubic Fe₃O₄ and MgO phases, with post-adsorption peak shifts indicating Hg(II) binding. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a spherical rod-like morphology with an average particle size of 82.9 nm, providing abundant active sites for adsorption. Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) analysis demonstrated a magnetic saturation value of 11.65 emu·g⁻1, ensuring easy separation and recovery of the adsorbent. Optimal adsorption conditions were identified as an adsorbent dosage of 0.25 g·L⁻1, initial Hg(II) concentration of 400 mg·L⁻1, pH 9, and a 120-min contact time, resulting in a high adsorption capacity of 1554.77 mg·g⁻1 and 97.17% removal efficiency. Adsorption followed the Langmuir isotherm model, suggesting monolayer adsorption, while kinetic analysis indicated a pseudo-second-order mechanism governed by chemisorption. These findings highlight the potential of Fe₃O₄/MgO as an efficient and recyclable adsorbent for Hg(II) removal in water treatment applications.
期刊介绍：
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution is an international, interdisciplinary journal on all aspects of pollution and solutions to pollution in the biosphere. This includes chemical, physical and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air and soil in relation to environmental pollution. Because of its scope, the subject areas are diverse and include all aspects of pollution sources, transport, deposition, accumulation, acid precipitation, atmospheric pollution, metals, aquatic pollution including marine pollution and ground water, waste water, pesticides, soil pollution, sewage, sediment pollution, forestry pollution, effects of pollutants on humans, vegetation, fish, aquatic species, micro-organisms, and animals, environmental and molecular toxicology applied to pollution research, biosensors, global and climate change, ecological implications of pollution and pollution models. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution also publishes manuscripts on novel methods used in the study of environmental pollutants, environmental toxicology, environmental biology, novel environmental engineering related to pollution, biodiversity as influenced by pollution, novel environmental biotechnology as applied to pollution (e.g. bioremediation), environmental modelling and biorestoration of polluted environments.
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Water, Air, & Soil Pollution publishes research papers; review articles; mini-reviews; and book reviews.
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