The removal of toxic metals from pharmaceutical wastewater is a pressing environmental concern. In this study, a novel nanocomposite material composed of geopolymer, Fe3O4, and ZnO was synthesized and investigated for its efficacy in removing toxic metals from wastewater. The adsorption behavior of the nanocomposite was studied using isotherm, kinetics, and thermodynamic analyses. The results demonstrated that, the adsorption rates increased as the dosage amounts for Cu, Cd, and Pb ions ranged from 0.4 to 1.2 g. Specifically, the percentage of adsorption ranged from 62.62% to 100% for Cu, from 58.15% to 100% for Cd, and from 52.06% to 100% for Pb. Results obtained from X-ray diffraction pattern shows distinct pattern which corresponds to distinct diffraction peaks corresponding to ZnO at angles of 2? = 31.3ﾰ, 34.2ﾰ, 36.5ﾰ, 47.1ﾰ, 56.7ﾰ, 62.4ﾰ, 66.1ﾰ, 67.4ﾰ, and 69.3ﾰ. These angles correspond to the crystallographic indices (100), (002), (101), (102), (110), (103), (200), (112), and (201), respectively. Furthermore, we also identified diffraction peaks associated with Fe3O4 at angles of 2? = 30.1ﾰ, 35.4ﾰ, 43.1ﾰ, 53.4ﾰ, 57.7ﾰ, and 62.4ﾰ. Overall, the Geopolymer/Fe3O4/ZnO nanocomposite shows great promise as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of toxic metals from pharmaceutical wastewater, offering potential for addressing environmental concerns associated with pharmaceutical industry effluents. Further research is warranted to explore its scalability and practical application in wastewater treatment processes.
Key words: Adsorption, Metals, Nanocomposite, pharmaceutical, Toxic, wastewater
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