Sorption studies of europium on cerium phosphate using Box-Behnken design

Authors: SÜLEYMAN İNAN

Abstract: Amorphous cerium phosphate was prepared and characterized. Three-level Box-Behnken design (BBD) was employed to analyze the effect of process variables such as initial pH (2-6), contact time (60--180 min), and sorbent amount (0.05-0.15 g) on the sorption capacity of europium. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that the main effect of initial pH and sorbent amount has a substantial impact on the sorption of Eu(III). Probability F-value (F = 3 $\times $ 10$^{-3})$ and correlation coefficient (R$^{2}$ = 0.97) point out that the model is in good accordance with experimental data. The maximum sorption capacity of Eu(III) was found to be 42.14 mg g$^{-1}$ at initial pH 6, contact time of 180 min, and a sorbent amount of 0.05 g. Sorption isotherm data was well explained by the Langmuir model and monolayer Eu(III) sorption capacity was obtained as 30.40 mg g$^{-1}$. Kinetic data were well described by the pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic data suggested that the process is endothermic and spontaneous.

Keywords: Sorption, europium, cerium phosphate, Box-Behnken, separation

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