Cr (III) Removal Capacity in Aqueous Solution in Relation to the Functional Groups Present in the Orange Peel (Citrus sinensis)

Abstract

Bioremediation is a pollutant removal method that has had a great boom due to the diversity of agroindustrial waste that can be used for this purpose, and that has shown having great efficiency and profitability in the adsorption of heavy metals, such as Pb, Cu, and Co. Based on the above, the present work carried out kinetic and equilibrium studies of bioadsorption of Cr (III) using orange peel (OP) as adsorbent, previously treated with methanol, water, and a water–methanol mixture at different pH (0.91, 1.78 and 2.72), and at 30 °C, finding that the adsorption capacity at equilibrium increases with increasing pH, having a maximum of 55 mg g−1 at pH 2.72—under these conditions, lower adsorption energy was used to remove Cr (III). In addition, it was determined that there are no external mass transfer limitations. An isoelectric point analysis indicated that the adsorption is not carried out by electrostatic forces and a FTIR study of the functional groups of OP showed a decrease in the main functional groups (pectin, cellulose, and lignin, among others), which is directly related to the adsorption capacity of the bioadsorbent.