Removal of heavy metal iron(II) ions from wastewater using an ultrasonic system with climbazole-alcohol

Climbazole (CBZ) is an antifungal active pharmaceutical ingredient often used in antidandruff products. In this study, the ketone group in the racemic CBZ molecule was reduced to synthesize CBZ-alcohol, named 1-(4-chlorophenoxy)-1-(1<i>H</i>-imidazol-1-yl)-3,3-dimethylbutan-2-ol, and the optimum adsorption conditions were investigated for removing iron(II) (Fe²⁺) ions from wastewater by adsorption from aqueous solutions using the economical and environmentally friendly ultrasonic method. The parameters and levels used in the study were designed using response surface methodology and model equations were derived to optimize the results. The independent variables selected were the initial pH (1, 3, and 5), adsorption time (30, 45, and 60 min), adsorption temperature (40, 60, and 80 °C), and Fe²⁺ ions consumption percentage from the wastewater. Experiments were conducted on a real wastewater sample taken from the Uşak Organized Industrial Zone. Conditions that maximize each dependent variable were specified separately and verification experiments were conducted under these conditions. Maximum Fe²⁺ ion consumption was 91.83%. The R² value of the model was 0.9598. The findings demonstrate that CBZ-alcohol was effective as an adsorbent in Fe²⁺ ion removal from aqueous solution.