Efficiency of mining rock wastes in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺) from contaminated water solutions

Efficiency of mining rock wastes in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺) from contaminated water solutions | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Efficiency of mining rock wastes in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺) from contaminated water solutions Aya T. Fathy, Mohamed A. Moneim, Fatma M. Dardir, Abdalla M. El-Ayyat, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7931109/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 14 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Abu Tartur plateau Western Desert of Egypt hosting the largest phosphate mine in the Middle East. Annually, few million tons of carbonates, black shale, siltstone, glauconite and sandstone were generated from Abu Tartur mine operations as rock wastes from the overburden. Phosphatic dolomite (PD) and black shale were collected from mine waste. PD along with a synthesized sodalite-based materials (SBPD) created from calcined phosphatic dolomite (CPD) and black shale were assessed as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺ from synthetic waste water. Heavy metal pollution (e.g., Cd, Pb, Cu) has become a crucial issue worldwide. Among various remediation strategies, adsorption is widely recognized for its environmental sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and operational simplicity. Characterization of both PD, CPD and SBPD was carried out using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Optimal adsorption conditions including adsorbent dosage, pH, initial metal concentration, and contact time were investigated for Pb, Cu, and Cd. The best performance for SBPD was achieved with a 0.2 g dose for Pb and Cd, while PD showed optimal results at 0.3 g for Pb and 0.6 g for Cu. Both materials demonstrated a preferential removal sequence of Pb²⁺ >Cu²⁺ >Cd²⁺. Kinetic and isotherm models were applied to interpret the adsorption mechanisms, with results confirming that sodalite exhibited higher metal removal efficiency than unmodified phosphatic dolomite. Physical sciences/Chemistry Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences Phosphatic dolomite (PD) Sodalite (SBPD) Adsorption Heavy metals Characterization Optimum conditions Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Tables 1 to 6 are available in the Supplementary Files section. Supplementary Files Tablenew.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 02 Mar, 2026 Reviews received at journal 27 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 17 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 03 Nov, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 03 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 30 Oct, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 27 Oct, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7931109","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":539670348,"identity":"52814ffc-90cc-4db5-9fc6-44c84dcf7675","order_by":0,"name":"Aya T. 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(Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺) from contaminated water solutions","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Phosphatic dolomite (PD), Sodalite (SBPD), Adsorption, Heavy metals, Characterization, Optimum conditions","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7931109/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7931109/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eAbu Tartur plateau Western Desert of Egypt hosting the largest phosphate mine in the Middle East. Annually, few million tons of carbonates, black shale, siltstone, glauconite and sandstone were generated from Abu Tartur mine operations as rock wastes from the overburden. Phosphatic dolomite (PD) and black shale were collected from mine waste. PD along with a synthesized sodalite-based materials (SBPD) created from calcined phosphatic dolomite (CPD) and black shale were assessed as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of Pb\u0026sup2;⁺, Cu\u0026sup2;⁺, and Cd\u0026sup2;⁺ from synthetic waste water. Heavy metal pollution (e.g., Cd, Pb, Cu) has become a crucial issue worldwide. Among various remediation strategies, adsorption is widely recognized for its environmental sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and operational simplicity.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharacterization of both PD, CPD and SBPD was carried out using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Optimal adsorption conditions including adsorbent dosage, pH, initial metal concentration, and contact time were investigated for Pb, Cu, and Cd. The best performance for SBPD was achieved with a 0.2 g dose for Pb and Cd, while PD showed optimal results at 0.3 g for Pb and 0.6 g for Cu. Both materials demonstrated a preferential removal sequence of Pb\u0026sup2;⁺ \u0026gt;Cu\u0026sup2;⁺ \u0026gt;Cd\u0026sup2;⁺. Kinetic and isotherm models were applied to interpret the adsorption mechanisms, with results confirming that sodalite exhibited higher metal removal efficiency than unmodified phosphatic dolomite.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Efficiency of mining rock wastes in the removal of toxic heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Cd²⁺) from contaminated water solutions","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-11-13 03:17:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7931109/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-02T20:01:02+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-27T12:49:49+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-26T08:19:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"26239256210897652278887957674663109160","date":"2026-02-22T09:24:48+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"222392064770989029689998385356738629266","date":"2026-02-22T08:49:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-17T11:22:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157406152698445342649935279634013362475","date":"2025-11-04T08:44:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-11-04T02:59:39+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157648750111816897375488658195342782067","date":"2025-11-04T02:17:24+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-11-04T00:24:13+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2025-10-30T18:10:30+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-10-28T01:42:46+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-10-28T01:42:23+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Scientific Reports","date":"2025-10-23T10:03:31+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"141c24f7-9e38-426d-a711-b1bd1f1c416a","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 13th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[{"id":57395066,"name":"Physical sciences/Chemistry"},{"id":57395067,"name":"Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-08T05:56:24+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-11-13 03:17:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7931109","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7931109","identity":"rs-7931109","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}