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This study investigates the removal of heavy metals, particularly copper and nickel, from acidic aqueous solutions using the weakly base polymeric chelating resin Dowex M-4195. The research conducts comprehensive cost–benefit and statistical analyses of various kinetic and isotherm adsorption models. The results show that the PSO and general order models provide high accuracy for the Cu2⁺ adsorption kinetics, while the Avrami fractional order model excels for Ni2⁺. In terms of the isotherm models, the Langmuir and Jovanovic models are highly accurate for both metals, with the Toth model being particularly effective for Ni2⁺ due to its ability to account for surface heterogeneity and multi-layer adsorption. This study also reveals that the kinetic adsorption process is more economically beneficial than the isotherm adsorption process, highlighting the importance of model selection for optimizing heavy metal removal. Incorporating circular economy principles, this research emphasizes the sustainability of using regenerable and reusable adsorbents like Dowex M-4195. The findings provide valuable insights for designing efficient adsorption systems, promoting environmental sustainability, and ensuring public health safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present study, a simultaneous electrospinning and electrospraying (SEE) process was employed to produce microclusters of TiO 2 nanoparticles and interlock them in nanofibrous network. The photocatalytic composite membranes (PCMs) were fabricated by electrospraying TiO 2 nanoparticle suspension into microcluster form that dispersed and entrapped within nylon-6 electrospun fiber membrane. Three PCMs membrane with TiO 2 content of 52.0, 83.6, and 91.7wt.% were successfully fabricated. The membrane consisted of TiO 2 microclusters, ranging in sizes from around 0.3 to 10μm, distributed uniformly within the nylon-6 nanofibrous network. PCMs photocatalytic activity against Methylene Blue (MB) in aqueous solution showed more than 98% MB removal efficiency after 120min of photocatalytic oxidation (PCO) for all PCMs. For PCM with the highest TiO 2 content tested for 5 PCO cycles, it was found that most of their TiO 2 content remained incorporated within the nanofibrous structure. The concept of nanoparticles clusters entrapment with SEE fabrication employed here provide a simple and effective method for reducing detachment of nanostructure phase from nanocomposite membrane., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)