Preparation of carbon fiber-supported zero-valent iron and their performance in chromium(VI) removal from aqueous solutions

Carbon fiber carrying Fe⁰(PCF^-ZVI) was prepared by the electrodeposition method. The carbon fiber carrying Fe⁰ was characterized by scanning electron microscope/energy dispersive spectroscopy(SEM/EDS) and X-ray diffraction(XRD),and its performance was investigated to apply in chromium(VI) removal. It was shown that the carbon fiber carrying Fe⁰ had good effect on chromium(VI) removal in aqueous solutions. The removal efficiency could be up to 99.96% at the Fe⁰/C mass ratio of 2:1,the Fe⁰ dosage of 2 g·L^-1,the initial Cr(VI) concentration of 20 mg·L^-1,pH 5,and the reaction time of 40 min. The reaction process was fitted by the pseudo first order reduction kinetics model. The relationship between the rate of reduction and the reaction temperature accorded with the Arrhenius law,and the reaction activation energy was 20.683 kJ ·mol^-1.