Abstract
Lead(II) ion is a very toxic element known to cause detrimental effects to human health even at very low concentrations. An adsorbent prepared using mucilaginous leaves from Diceriocaryum eriocarpum plant (DEP) was used for the adsorption of lead(II) ion from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were performed on simulated aqueous solutions under optimized conditions of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH and initial lead(II) ion concentration at 298 K. The Langmuir isotherm model more suitably described the adsorption process than the Freundlich model with linearized coefficients of 0.9661 and 0.9547, respectively. Pseudo-second order kinetic equation best described the kinetics of the reaction. Fourier transform infra-red analysis confirmed the presence of amino (–NH), carbonyl (–C=O) and hydroxyl (–OH) functional groups. Application of the prepared adsorbent to wastewater samples of 10 mg/L and 12 mg/L of lead(II) ion concentration taken from a waste stabilization pond showed removal efficiencies of 95.8% and 96.4%, respectively. Futhermore, 0.1 M HCl was a better desorbing agent than 0.1 M NaOH and de-ionized water. The experimental data obtained demonstrated that mucilaginous leaves from DEP can be used as a suitable adsorbent for lead(II) ion removal from wastewater.
Highlights
Heavy metal pollution has been one of the most challenging environmental problems due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation tendencies [1,2]
This study presents the use of mucilaginous leaves of Diceriocaryum eriocarpum Plant (DEP) as a potential, novel, environmentally friendly and low cost adsorbent for the remediation of lead(II) ion from aqueous solution and wastewater samples
Rodrigues et al [38] and Zvinowanda et al [28] reported Brunaeur-Emmett Teller (BET) surface areas of 1.083 m2/g and 2.52 m2/g for activated carbon from macademia nuts used for phenol removal and maize tassels for heavy metal removal from polluted waters, respectively adsorbents with higher surface areas have been widely reported in literature [15,39,40,41]
Summary
Heavy metal pollution has been one of the most challenging environmental problems due to their toxicity, persistence and bioaccumulation tendencies [1,2]. The major disadvantages of these methods lie in the cost involved, the efficiency of the processes and disposal of wastes generated [11,12,13] These shortcomings have made researchers seek alternative techniques for heavy metal remediation. The sorption capacity of some biosorbents is high due to the presence of adequate functional groups that sequester metals from aqueous solutions [11] The use of this technique is cheap, environmentally friendly and naturally available. These bio-based materials have shown the tendency to remove metals at trace levels, overcoming some of the major shortcomings of the conventional methods [14]. This study presents the use of mucilaginous leaves of Diceriocaryum eriocarpum Plant (DEP) as a potential, novel, environmentally friendly and low cost adsorbent for the remediation of lead(II) ion from aqueous solution and wastewater samples
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