Adsorption of cyanide from Cassava wastewater using activated carbons derived from Raphia hookeri kernels: a comparison of in-situ and ex-situ activation

Abstract

The rise in cyanide concentration in groundwater in many developing countries is linked to the indiscriminate discharge of cyanide-bearing wastewater from cassava processing industries. This research synthesized a super-active activated carbon (AC) from a novel biomass precursor, Raphia hookeri kernel, functionalized with phosphoric acid via in-situ and ex-situ methods. Morphological and functional characterizations were performed, and the influence of some key process variables on cyanide adsorption was also investigated for the two derived ACs to study the impact of the activation method used. The optimal conditions for cyanide adsorption for the in-situ and ex-situ–derived ACs were identified as pH 8, AC dose of 0.15 g, temperature of 40 °C, and initial cyanide concentration of 100 mgL−1 at different equilibrium times of 100 min and 120 min, respectively. The kinetic studies revealed that the pseudo-second-order kinetic model fitted the adsorption data better for the two ACs based on the high correlation coefficients (r2), suggesting that the adsorption process is chemisorption. The equilibrium studies showed that the in-situ-derived AC followed the Langmuir isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 93.821 mgg−1 indicating monolayer adsorption for the in-situ-derived AC. The ex-situ-derived AC, however, followed the Sips isotherm with a maximum adsorption capacity (qm) of 79.381 mgg−1 indicating a heterogeneous surface for the ex-situ-derived AC. The ACs showed decreasing cyanide adsorption after five cycles but maintained significant adsorption capacity after desorption-adsorption cycles.