Adsorption of some bivalent heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions by manganese nodule leached residues

The leached residue, generated after selective extraction of Cu, Ni, and Co in sulfur dioxide-ammonia leaching of manganese nodules, was characterized and batch isothermal adsorption experiments were conducted at ambient temperature to evaluate the effectiveness of the water-washed leached residue for removal of different bivalent metal ions from aqueous synthetic solutions. The effects of pH, initial metal ion concentrations, amount of adsorbent, interfering ions, and heat treatment were also investigated. The uptake of metal ions increased with increasing pH. Under identical conditions the adsorption capacity increased in the order Cd(2+)