Coupled Adsorption and Electrochemical Process for Copper Recovery from Wastewater Using Grapefruit Peel
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146, Issue 9
Abstract
The recovery of copper by-products from wastewater was achieved by carrying out an adsorption process coupled with an electrochemical system using modified grapefruit peels for metal recovery in a continuous flow. The adsorption capacity of grapefruit peels was , and it was possible to reuse it in repeated adsorption–desorption cycles (more than 17). The recovery of copper from the saturated adsorbent was possible by means of a two-step process: first, desorption was carried out using 0.1 M HCl, achieving 90% of Cu(II) eluted in a concentrated solution, and then, an electrolytic process was carried out, achieving up to 65% of metal recovery as electrolyzed copper with high purity. The adsorbent material and eluted solution could be reused. In a final step, the exhausted adsorbent was processed through thermal degradation; copper adhered to the material acted as a catalyst, which reduced the energy consumption and finally resulted in the formation of copper oxide with 54% weight for weight (w/w) copper purity.
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Data Availability Statement
No data, models, or codes were generated or used during the study.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Alimentos nutracéuticos La Meza S.A. de C.V. for their support in conducting this research. Thanks are also due to the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT, México), for the Project No. 256943 “Fondo de investigación científica básica 2015,” and ERDF/Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities—State Research Agency/_Project Ref. RTI2018-099224-B-I00. Luis A. Romero-Cano is specially grateful to the CONACyT (México) for the support received with Scholarship No. 378307 and Helena García-Rosero gratefully acknowledges COLCIENCIAS (Colombia) for supporting her Ph.D. studies.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 146 • Issue 9 • September 2020
Copyright
© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Oct 24, 2019
Accepted: Apr 24, 2020
Published online: Jul 6, 2020
Published in print: Sep 1, 2020
Discussion open until: Dec 6, 2020
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