Research on the manufacturing of Fe2O3/TiO2-based adsorbent granules for application in treating Pb²⁺-contaminated water

In this paper, Fe2O3/TiO2 adsorbent granules were fabricated via a drum-type granulation method with bentonite as a binder. The granulation process included three steps: mixing Fe2O3/TiO2 mixture of powder and fine coal dust into a homogeneous mixture, granulating by spraying water mist, drying the beads, and calcining at 500 oC for 1 h to form pores. The characteristic structures of composite materials after fabrication are evaluated by various methods, such as X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The performance evaluation of the fabricated adsorbent granulation for removing Pb2+ from polluted water was studied using a fixed-bed adsorption column. The factors affecting the adsorption performance, such as height of the adsorption column, flow rate, and inlet Pb2+ concentration, were determined. In column mode, the longest exit time was 450 minutes, the saturation time was 723 minutes, and the adsorption efficiency was 78.202% at the initial concentration of 5 mg/l, column height of 16 cm, and flow rate of 5 ml/min. The adsorption data with three well-established fixed-bed adsorption models, namely the Adam-Bohart, Thomas, and Yoon-Nelson models, with a correlation coefficient, R2 > 0.95.