Retention of copper, cadmium and lead from water by Na-Y-Zeolite confined in methyl methacrylate shell

The adsorption of Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solution onto methyl methacrylate-Na-Y-Zeolite (MMA-Na-Y-Zeolite) composite was analyzed in a batch system with respect to pH, contact time, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dosage and temperature. The sorbent was characterized by FT-IR spectrometry, SEM analysis and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Kinetic profiles are successfully modeled with the pseudo-second order rate equation. The Langmuir, the Dubinin–Radushkevich and Temkin equations fit well-adsorption isotherms of Cu(II) and Cd(II), while the distribution of Pb(II) at equilibrium did not fit any of the studied adsorption isotherms. The change of free energy (ΔG o ), enthalpy (ΔH o ) and entropy (ΔS o ) of adsorption were also evaluated. The thermodynamics of the adsorption Cu(II) and Cd(II) indicated endothermic nature, on the other side exothermic adsorption was recorded for Pb(II). The regeneration efficiency of MMA-Na-Y-Zeolite reached 96.6%, 98.18% and 98.4% for Cu(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II), respectively. The results indicate that MMA-Na-Y-Zeolite composite could be employed as low-cost material for the removal of heavy metals from real water samples.