Using Zeolite/Polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate nanocomposite beads for removal of some heavy metals from wastewater

Functionalized Polyvinyl alcohol/sodium alginate (PVA/SA) beads were synthesized via blending Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with sodium alginate (SA) and the glutaraldehyde was used as a cross-linking agent. The zeolite nanoparticles (Zeo NPs) incorporated PVA/SA resulting Zeo/PVA/SA nanocomposite (NC) beads were synthesized for removal of some heavy metal from wastewater. The synthesizes beads were characterized via Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyzer (PSA), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The adsorption kinetics of the selected metal ions onto Zeo/PVA/SA NC beads followed the pseudo-first-order model (PFO) and the adsorption isotherm model was well fitted by the Langmuir model. Moreover, the thermodynamic studies were also examined; the outcomes showed that the adsorption mechanisms of the selective metal ions were endothermic, the chemical in nature, spontaneous adsorption on the surface of the Zeo/PVA/SA NC beads. The removal efficiency using Zeo/PVA/SA NC modified beads reached maximum at the pH value of 6.0 for Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺, Sr²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Li²⁺ with 99.5, 99.2, 98.8, 97.2, 95.6, 93.1, 92.4 and 74.5%, respectively, while the highest removal are achieved at pH = 5 for Fe³⁺ and Al³⁺ with 96.5 and 94.9%, respectively and decreased at lower or higher pH values. The survival count (%) of the E. coli cells were 34% on the SA beads, 11% on the PVA/SA, and 1% on the Zeo/PVA/SA NC modified beads, after 120 min exposure at 25 °C. Reusability experimental displays that the synthesized beads preserved a significant decrease in the sorption capacity after 10 repeating cycles. The Zeo/PVA/SA NC beads were able to eliminate 60–99.8% of Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, Cr³⁺, Co²⁺, Cd²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mn²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Li²⁺, Sr²⁺, Si²⁺, V²⁺, and Pb²⁺ ions from the natural wastewater samples collected from 10th Ramadan City, Cairo, Egypt.