Application of Magnetic Iron Nanoparticles to Remove Nickel Ions from Water

Magnetic iron nanoparticles are used as the core of new treatment systems to remove contaminants from groundwater and industrial wastewater. In this research, these nanoparticles have been used to remove nickel contaminants. For this purpose, experiments were designed and performed in two different ways. In the first method, the nickel-containing solutions were mixed with different amounts of iron nanopowder and then the solutions were irradiated with ultrasound. After certain periods of time, the magnetic particles were separated from the solution by magnetic field and their nickel residue was determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results show that iron nanoparticles have a high efficiency for removing nickel from water, so that using ۰.۰۳ g of iron nanoparticles, was removed about ۱۳-۲۵ ppm from nickel ion. Then, in the second stage, the separation process was performed using the osmosis phenomenon. In this stage, a system consisting of a solution of nickel in water and a nanofluid of iron in water separated by a semipermeable membrane, was designed. In this case, the conditions were adjusted so that the water in the nickel solution moved to the other side of the membrane due to its higher potential and thus separated from the nickel. Finally, with the help of magnetic properties, nanoparticles can be separated and pure water can be obtained.