Agricultural Waste-Derived Adsorbents for Decontamination of Heavy Metals

Abstract

The growing concerns on the environment in recent years have influenced the usage of renewable sources as alternative materials to create a platform for the development of new technology with possible economic potential. Adsorbents derived from agricultural wastes have hidden economic values which could be benefited by transforming the agricultural wastes into valuable and useful products. Numerous agricultural wastes such as skins/peels, cores, pits, leaves, brunches, and pericarp are being produced in plantation and processing industries. The agricultural wastes have exhibited the potential usage as an adsorbent to remove contaminants from water environment which conserve the natural environment and resources mainly in the ecology system sustainably, for the reason that this utilization converts the agricultural wastes into value-added product and at the same time decontaminate polluted water source. This application on the utilization of agricultural wastes is not only good for a sustainable environment but is also suitable for rural economic development, meaning possible increases in profit for farmers and the agricultural industry. This chapter provides insight on some findings on heavy metal removal by adsorbents produced from agricultural wastes. The chapter also discusses the situation of the heavy metals in the environment, parameters affecting the adsorption process of the heavy metals, kinetic models, and adsorption isotherms that are associated with the agricultural waste-derived adsorbents. The development of the adsorbents from agricultural waste biomass and the prospect of developing hybrid adsorbent and magnetic adsorbent have attracted many researchers worldwide in performing research work on the application to water and wastewater treatment.