Adsorption of thallium (III) ion from aqueous solution using modified ZnO nanopowder

In this study, the adsorption of thallium (III) ion from aqueous solutions onto modified ZnOnanopowder as a fairly low cost adsorbent has been investigated in batch mode. It was found thatmodification of the adsorbent was essential for obtaining the significant adsorption percentage. Theadsorbent modified by sodium phosphate solution. The effect of experimental parameters such asinitial pH of solution, contact time, adsorbent dosage, thallium initial concentration and temperaturewas studied. The results showed that the adsorption percentage was dependent on this parametersspecially pH. The successful adsorption percentage of thallium (III) ion obtained at 25±1°C was 92.2-92.6%. The equilibrium data could be well described by the Freundlich isotherm but its fitting byLangmuir model was not so successful. Separation factor, RL, values showed that modified ZnOnanopowder were favorable for the sorption of thallium (III) ion.