REMOVAL OF BORON USING CLAY-EFFECT OF PROCESS PARAMETERS,KINETIC AND ISOTHERM STUDIES

In this study, a low-cost eco-friendly adsorbent was prepared from naturally available sarooj clay and is proposed for the removal of boron from aqueous phase. The effect of process parameters, namely initial pH, sorbent quantity, initial boron concentration, shaking speed and temperature were studied on the metal uptake under batch conditions. The process efficiency was observed to be strongly parameter dependent and the optimal pH was found to be 10.0.The uptake capacity decreased with increase in sorbent dose and increased with boron concentration. Temperature was found to have a positive influence confirming the endothermic nature of the process. Equilibrium sorption data were analysed using Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm and represented well by Freundlich isotherm. The Freundlich constant was evaluated as 14.791 L g-1 at 35 °C.The mechanism of sorption was investigated using kinetic models, namely, pseudo-second order and intraparticle diffusion models .The batch experimental fitted well to pseudo-second order model and the rate constant was found to be 0.0017 g mg-1min-1 with an initial boron concentration of 100 mg L-1. The sorbent characteristics were studied using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray detector and X-ray fluorescence methods