Studies on the capability and behavior of adsorption of thallium on nano-Al(2)O(3).

A novel sorbent, nano-Al(2)O(3) was employed for the removal of thallium from aqueous solution in batch equilibrium experiments, in order to investigate its adsorption properties. The removal percentage of thallium by the sorbent increased with increasing pH from 1 to 5. The adsorption capacities and removal percentage of Tl(III) onto nano-Al(2)O(3) were evaluated as a function of the solution concentration and temperature. Results have been analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich adsorption isotherms. Adsorption isothermal data could be well interpreted by the Langmuir model. The mean energy of adsorption 9.32 kJ mol(-1) was calculated from the Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherm. The kinetic experimental data properly correlated with the second-order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters for the process of adsorption have been estimated. The DeltaH(0) and DeltaG(0) values of thallium(III) adsorption on nano-Al(2)O(3) showed endothermic adsorption.