Abstract

PETRONI, Sérgio Luis Graciano; PIRES, Maria Aparecida Faustino  and  MUNITA, Casimiro Sepúlveda. Adsorption of zinc and cadmium on peat columns. Quím. Nova [online]. 2000, vol.23, n.4, pp. 477-481. ISSN 0100-4042.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-40422000000400009.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the adsorption conditions of zinc and cadmium ions from aqueous solutions using a comercially available peat from Balneário Arroio do Silva, Santa Catarina State, Brazil. Adsorption studies were carried out in column experiments using radiotracers of the studied metals (⁶⁵Zn and ¹¹⁵Cd). The pH influence and the interference of other ions, such as Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Fe³⁺ and Al³⁺on the adsorption process were investigated. The results showed that peat columns are able to retain more than 99% of metal ions in solution in a range of pH from 3,7 to 6,5. Ca²⁺ and Al³⁺ ions were the main interferent on adsorption of Zn and Cd ions in solution.

Keywords : peat columns; adsorption; zinc and cadmium.