Adsorption of toxic metals from landfill leachate onto guinea fowl eggshells in the era of green chemistry

Abstract

One of the best and most affordable ways to remove harmful metals from water is by adsorption. This study investigated the efficiency of guinea fowl (Numida meleagris) eggshells as a low-cost adsorbent for cadmium (Cd) and nickel (Ni) removal from landfill leachate. In replicas, 100 mL wastewater was added to each of the weighed adsorbent dosages (1 g, 1.5 g, 2 g, 2.5 g, 3.0 g, and 3.5 g) in a flat-bottom flask and agitated for 60 minutes at pH of 7.82 and temperature 24 °C. The adsorption efficacy of cadmium and nickel by guinea fowl eggshells were 90.5% to 96.5% and 96.1% to 99.3%, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of cadmium was 4.89 × 10-2 mg/g and an adsorption equilibrium (KL) 22.74 mg/L. The Langmuir isotherm model was better fitted to the results of the experiment than the Freundlich isotherm model.