Two-step modification (sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate composites acid-base) of sepiolite (SDBS/ABsep) and its performance for remediation of Cd contaminated water and soil.

To enhance the remediation capability of cadmium (Cd) polluted water and soil, our approach involved two-step modification of sepiolite (Sep) through acid-base compound treatment and sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (referring as SDBS/ABsep), and then the batch adsorption and soil culture experiments were conducted to investigate its immobilization potential and mechanisms of Cd. The findings revealed that the SDBS/ABsep had a rougher surface and higher porosity, and the maximum adsorption capacity of Cd onto SDBS/ABsep was 241.39 mg g, which was 5.32 times higher than that on Sep. It conformed to the pseudo-second-order kinetic and Redlich-Paterson isotherm models. SDBS/ABsep exhibited a high efficiency for immobilization-induced remediation of Cd polluted soils. Upon the addition of different concentrations of SDBS/ABsep, DTPA-Cd content decreased by 17.41-47.33% compared with the control groups, and the ratio of residual fraction-Cd increased from 4.67% in unamended soil to 14.05% in the presence of 4% SDBS/ABsep. SEM-EDS, TEM, FTIR, XRD, and XPS analyses indicated that the interaction mechanisms between SDBS/ABsep and Cd included the electrostatic force, precipitation, ion exchange, and complexation of sulfonic acid groups. Therefore, SDBS/ABsep can be used as a promising effective passivation agent for remediation of Cd contaminated soil and water.