Removal of Cu(II) from Aqueous Solution with Precipitated Calcium Carbonate

Abstract

Abstract Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was synthesized in the presence of the water-soluble biopolymer carboxymethyl inulin (CMI) by a precipitation method. The obtained CaCO3 crystals were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The results showed that the polymorph of the synthesized calcium carbonate crystals changed from pure calcite to the mixture of vaterite and calcite in the presence of biopolymer at a concentration of 0.5 g/L. The sorption behavior of Cu(II) on synthesized calcium carbonate crystals was investigated. The results showed that Cu(II) sorption rate was fast and most of Cu(II) was adsorbed within 5 minute. The experimental results were fitted to the modified Freundlich, pseudo-first-order, and pseudo-second-order equations to find out sorption capacities. The results indicate that the sorption data fits well in the modified Freundlich isotherm model. This indicates the existence of multiple sites available for adsorption.