| In this research, modification of bentonite and synthesis of Fe3O4/Bentonite nanocomposite are reported in the
presence of ultrasound. The samples were prepared by chemical co-precipitation and sonochemical methods and
the structural order, textural, magnetic, and surface area properties were examined using XRD, FTIR, SEM, EDX,
VSM, BET, and point of zero charge pH (pHpzc) analysis. Then the as synthesized nanocomposite was used to
remove nitrate, BOD and COD from water and industrial wastewater. Batch adsorption experiments were conducted, where the influence of several parameters such as pH, contact time, adsorbent amount, and nitrate
concentration were studied. According to the results, the best nitrate removal (79%) by using the prepared
nanocomposite was achieved at the pH of 5, the contact time of 90 min, adsorbent amount of 0.6 g and the initial
nitrate concentration of 30 mg/l. For further investigation, some tests were conducted on industrial wastewater
of pharmaceutical units to evaluate the BOD and COD reduction. Using 2 g of synthesized sample, 84.88% of
BOD and 88.8% of COD of the industrial wastewater were removed. |