Experimental and modelling studies on fixed bed adsorption for Cu(II) removal from aqueous solution by carboxyl modified jute fiber

To guide the practical application of fibrous materials in wastewater treatment, this study explored the engineering design of fixed bed adsorption technique by using carboxyl-modified jute fiber (CMJF) for copper ion (Cu(II)) removal from aqueous solution. The study, conducted by means of adsorption experiments in a column with a fixed bed of sorbent, investigated the effects of the CMJF sorbent dosage, the flow rate and the initial Cu(II) concentration on the corresponding breakthrough curves and compared the dynamic adsorption performance of raw and modified jute in the same process conditions. Compared with the fixed bed of raw jute fiber, the CMJF sorbent exhibited a breakthrough time about 3.2 times longer and a dynamic adsorption capacity roughly 4.2 times higher at the optimal conditions (packing height of 8 cm, flow rate of 17.45 cm/min and initial concentration of 100 mg/L). The dynamic adsorption capacity, 50% breakthrough time and 10% breakthrough time could be well predicted by Thomas, Yoon–Nelson and Bed Depth Service Time (BDST) models, respectively. Besides, these dynamic models well described the fixed bed adsorption behavior, and the CMJF exhibited better fixed bed adsorption performance than raw jute.