Removal of boron from water using adsorbents derived from waste tire rubber

Abstract

In the current study, the remediation of boron by adsorption from water was investigated at different pH values, initial boron concentration, adsorbent dosage and particle size using adsorbents prepared from waste tire rubber (WTR). The adsorbent was further modified to produce nano-WTR and chemically-modified WTR to investigate improvement in boron adsorption. The adsorption capacities for WTR, chemically modified-WTR and nano-WTR at initial concentration of 17.5 mg/L were 16.7 ± 1.3, 13.8 ± 1.9 and 12.7 ± 1.8 mg/g, respectively. The effect of pH on adsorption showed that the maximum adsorption occurred at lower pH of 2, owing to the unique speciation of boron in water at different pH values. It was also observed that the adsorption of boron on WTR adsorbents followed Freundlich isotherm model. Since, the adsorption capacity obtained for boron adsorption by WTR is highest as compared to other adsorbents reported in the literature, it can be concluded that WTR is excellent and cost-effective material available for removal of boron from water.