A Case Study of Landfill Leachate Using Coal Bottom Ash for the Removal of Cd2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+

The removal of Cd2+, Zn2+ and Ni2+ by coal bottom ash has been investigated. In single metal system, metal uptake was studied in batch adsorption experiments as a function of pH (2–3), contact time (5–180 min), initial metal concentration (50–400 mg/L), adsorbent concentration (5–40 g/L), particle size, and ionic strength (0–1 M NaCl). Removal percentages of metals ions increased with increasing pH and dosage. Removal efficiency at lower concentrations was greater than at higher values. The maximum amount of metal ion adsorbed in milligrams per gram was 35.4, 35.1 and 34.6 mg/g for Zn2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+, respectively, starting out from an initial solution at pH 3. Simultaneous removal of Zn2+, Cd2+ and Ni2+ ions from ternary systems was also investigated and compared with that from single systems. Cd2+ uptake was significantly affected by the presence of competing ions at pH 2. The results obtained in the tests with landfill leachate showed that bottom ash is effective in simultaneously removing several heavy metals such as Ni, Zn, Cd, As, Mn, Cu, Co, Se, Hg, Ag, and Pb.