Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution Using Montmorillonite- Supported Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron

Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution Using Montmorillonite- Supported Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron | 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 Research Article Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution Using Montmorillonite- Supported Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron Jiali Xu, Yi Chen, Junpeng Zhou This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6443613/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Cadmium (Cd) contamination in water poses a critical global challenge. A novel nanocomposite, montmorillonite (Mt) -supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (Mt-nZVI), synthesized by liquid phase reduction, offers a promising method for effectively removing Cd. The material underwent characterization through various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM). The effects of initial pH, Cd concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, temperature, solid dosage and reaction time on the performance of Mt-nZVI in removing Cd were investigated. Remarkably, a notable 93.12% removal rate was achieved for Cd concentration of 10 mg/L under a 2-hour reaction time, pH 7, and 0.5 g/L Mt-nZVI dosage. The adsorption process exhibited an excellent fit with both the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the intra-particle diffusion model, suggesting that the adsorption mechanisms involve both the chemical adsorption and intra-particle diffusion. Dynamic adsorption experiments were conducted using Mt-nZVI. Under optimized conditions (adsorbent-to- quartz sand mass ratio of 1:250 and flow rate of 2 mL/min), Mt-nZVI achieved optimal Cd removal efficiency, demonstrating its potential for continuous wastewater treatment applications. The removal mechanism of Cd, as inferred from a series of characterization analyses, likely involves processes including rapid adsorption facilitated by electrostatic interactions, hydrolysis of Fe leading to the formation of precipitates with Cd, and surface corrosion of nZVI resulting in the formation of surface complexes with Cd. Overall, these findings highlight the excellent potential of Mt-nZVI for treating Cd-containing wastewater. Cadmium Montmorillonite Nano zero-valent iron Adsorption Complexation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Sep, 2025 Read the published version in Environmental Monitoring and Assessment → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 24 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 23 May, 2025 Reviews received at journal 22 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 May, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 May, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 06 May, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 24 Apr, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 24 Apr, 2025 First submitted to journal 14 Apr, 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. 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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-6443613","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":454651562,"identity":"4da1fce2-1e5b-46e5-90f3-cec3716e3358","order_by":0,"name":"Jiali Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAt0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHCCxAMfIAwDorUkHJxBqhaGwzwkaTG4kfDgsE3NYbsG9uZtEgw1dwhrkZyRkHA459jh5AaeY2USDMeeEdbCLwHUkttwOJlBIsdMgrHhMGEtbCAtliAt8m+I1AK2BajSjkGCh0gtkj0PEg72HEtPYONJK7ZIOEaEFoPjOYkPftRY2/OzH95440MNEVoYGHgSQGRiG4hMIEYDAwP7ARBpT5ziUTAKRsEoGJEAAL0HOa81PZ4IAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Geosciences","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jiali","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""},{"id":454651563,"identity":"afc69109-cb2c-42ef-a7db-34c0ee691f8c","order_by":1,"name":"Yi Chen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Geosciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yi","middleName":"","lastName":"Chen","suffix":""},{"id":454651564,"identity":"69fdcc0b-1692-4827-87df-b1c194630020","order_by":2,"name":"Junpeng Zhou","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"China University of Geosciences","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Junpeng","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhou","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-14 07:53:25","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6443613/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6443613/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-025-14547-9","type":"published","date":"2025-09-09T15:57:04+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91358980,"identity":"09168516-3ecf-4c26-8b57-f9c8a6c72027","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-15 16:02:58","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1303381,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"RemovalofCdfromAqueousSolutionUsingMtnZVI.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6443613/v1_covered_64ec0987-481b-4d1d-a11b-79a70790d437.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Removal of Cadmium from Aqueous Solution Using Montmorillonite- Supported Nanoscale Zero-valent Iron","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":"environmental-monitoring-and-assessment","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"emas","sideBox":"Learn more about [Environmental Monitoring and Assessment](http://link.springer.com/journal/10661)","snPcode":"10661","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10661/3","title":"Environmental Monitoring and Assessment","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Cadmium, Montmorillonite, Nano zero-valent iron, Adsorption, Complexation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6443613/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6443613/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eCadmium (Cd) contamination in water poses a critical global challenge. A novel nanocomposite, montmorillonite (Mt) -supported nanoscale zero-valent iron (Mt-nZVI), synthesized by liquid phase reduction, offers a promising method for effectively removing Cd. The material underwent characterization through various techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscope(SEM). The effects of initial pH, Cd concentration, solid-to-liquid ratio, temperature, solid dosage and reaction time on the performance of Mt-nZVI in removing Cd were investigated. Remarkably, a notable 93.12% removal rate was achieved for Cd concentration of 10 mg/L under a 2-hour reaction time, pH 7, and 0.5 g/L Mt-nZVI dosage. The adsorption process exhibited an excellent fit with both the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the intra-particle diffusion model, suggesting that the adsorption mechanisms involve both the chemical adsorption and intra-particle diffusion. Dynamic adsorption experiments were conducted using Mt-nZVI. 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