The adsorption of nitrate and Cr(VI) on CPMG was investigated
at different pH ranging from 3 to 8 and results are presented in
Fig. 6. The adsorption amount of Cr(VI) decreased from 11.36 to
4.36 mg g−1 with increasing pH. The better removal of Cr(VI) at
lower pH is consistent with previous findings [1,37], and ascribed
to the neutralization of negative charges on the surface of the
adsorbent by the excess hydrogen ions [38]. On the other hand,
the decrease in adsorption of Cr(VI) at higher pH values can be
attributed to the development of negative surface charge that created
unfavorable electrostatic condition for anion adsorption. In
addition, the sharp decrease of Cr(VI) adsorption above pH 6 may
be related to the acid dissociation of hydrogenchromate (HCrO4
−)
to chromate (CrO4
2−) (pKa = 5.9) that rendered greater electrostatic
repulsion at elevated pH. In case of nitrate, an increase in solution
pH from 3 to 6 caused a similar decrease in the adsorption
on CPMG, but such a trend was not obvious at pH > 6. This suggests
electrostatic interaction became less important at elevated
pH and other specific interactions played a major role in nitrate
removal to override electrostatic repulsion resulted from increasing
negative charge on the absorbent. For example, good correlation
between released chloride and adsorbed nitrate observed from
isotherm experiments performed at pH 6.5 (Fig. 6) is an indirect
evidence of nitrate removal via ion exchange. A similar pattern of
nitrate adsorption on GAC has been reported by Bhatnagar et al.
[27] that nitrate adsorption showed little dependence on pH in the
ranges of 6–9. Overall, the relative effect of pH on the extent of
adsorption was different for nitrate and Cr(VI), but the removal
of both anions was also influenced by non-specific electrostatic
interaction.