A numerical finite volume model for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution by red mud adsorbent

Wastewaters containing heavy metals discharged from various industries, often causes many environmental problems. Thus, studying the possibility of removal of such metals from wastewater is very important. In this paper, a numerical finite volume model has been presented to simulate metal removal process from aqueous solution using red mud adsorbent. PHOENICS software has been used to perform the numerical simulation. The non-linear isotherm models considered in this study were the Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms. The results obtained from the simulation were compared with those of laboratory-scale works on Pb 2+ and Cr 6 + ions removal from aqueous solutions using red mud adsorbent and a close overlap was obtained. The red mud adsorbent was able to remove almost the entire Cr 6 + from the aqueous solution in 9 hours (from 3.38 to 0.13 mol/L). This reduction rate was about 50% for Pb 2+ (from 5.77 to 2.09 mol/L). Although the generation of such wastewater containing heavy metals by different industries is quit inevitable, but the modelling results presented here can help to design a favorable environmental management strategy to minimise the contrary impacts caused by industrial wastewater.

کلیدواژه ها:

Red mud ، numerical modelling ، finite volume ، adsorption ، PHOENICS