Adsorption behaviours of cobalt onto saline soil with/without biosurfactants

Narimannejad, Samira (2019) Adsorption behaviours of cobalt onto saline soil with/without biosurfactants. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

This thesis focuses on the investigation of behaviors of cobalt (Co) adsorption on saline soil with and without the existence of biosurfactants. Three biosurfactants, including surfactin, trehalose lipids and rhamnolipid products, were examined. The kinetics and isotherms of Co adsorption on saline soil were firstly examined. The impact of pH, contact time, initial Co concentration, and type/dose of each biosurfactant on Co adsorption were evaluated. The adsorption kinetic models were explored, and results indicated that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model would fit the experimental data the best. Four isotherms, including Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin and Redlich-Peterson were used for regulating the Co adsorption with and without the addition of each biosurfactant. The interations among parameters impacting Co adsorption on saline soil were then explored. The experiment was carried out using 2⁴ factorial design to examine the main effects and quantify interactions between size of soil particles, biosurfactant concentration, type of biosurfactant and initial Co concentration during Co adsorption. The research findings would facilitate understanding of Co adsorption mechanisms in saline soil and the Cobiosurfactant interactions during adsorption. The results would also help to screen a more appropriate method for conductng effective soil remediation.

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