Effective removal of organic dye and heavy metal from wastewater by tourmaline/graphene oxide composite nano material

Abstract

Dyes and heavy metals are typical pollutants of increasing environmental concern. In this study, tourmaline/graphene oxide (T/GO ratio of 1:1, 1:5, 1:10) composite nano materials were successfully fabricated through a hydrothermal method and successfully tested for the removal of methylene blue (MB) and Hg(II) from wastewater. The equilibrium adsorption capacities at 308 K were determined to be 454 mg g−1 of MB, and 294 mg g−1 of Hg(II), respectively. The adsorption isotherms were found to fit the Langmuir model. The adsorption kinetics were found to fit pseudo second order model. Additionally Gibbs free energy, Adsorption enthalpy and entropy were estimated. Moreover, T/GO composite nano materials displayed good reusability for removal of MB and Hg(II) after 6 cycles. The results indicate that T/GO composite nano materials could be effectively applied as an advanced adsorbent in place of conventional adsorbents for waste water treatment.