Characterization of the adsorption behavior of aqueous cadmium on nanozero-valent iron based on orthogonal experiment and surface complexation modeling

Polyvinylpyrrolidone K-30(PVP) was introduced into the preparation of nanozero-valent iron(n ZVI) and the traditional liquid-phase reduction was improved. The introduction of PVP simplified the traditional method.The n ZVI prepared with this new approach showed excellent surface characters and high performance on the removal of cadmium. TEM results showed that the aggregates of n ZVI can reach to several micrometers in length but less than 100 nm in diameter. The iron particles that were enclosed by a layer of oxide film that is less than10 nm, demonstrated that the n ZVI possesses a core–shell structure. BET results indicate that the specific surface area of the n ZVI was 20.3159 m~2g. A three factor and three level orthogonal experiment was employed to find out the dominant factor that affects the removal rate of cadmium by n ZVI. Based on the range values, the prominence order of each factor was: initial p H of the solution N initial concentration of cadmium N dosage of n ZVI, the range was 96.453, 3.294 and 1.747, respectively. A simulation was performed under the same condition and a same conclusion was derived, this consistence confirmed the validity of the conclusion that p H is the most significant factor that affects the adsorption efficiency.