Abstract
Novel biosorbents were derived from a waste product of palm kernel oil extraction known as palm kernel chaff (PKC). One portion of the PKC was carbonized in a furnace and then activated chemically, while the other half was activated without carbonization. Both were designated as CPKC and UPKC, respectively. The two biosorbents so produced were then used to conduct batch equilibrium and kinetic sorption studies at 30 °C, 35 °C and 40 °C and pH 3.0 and 9.0 for an agitation period of 5, 10, 20, 40, 60, 90, and 120 min. The Koble-Corrigan, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and the Freundlich isotherms fitted the experimental data very well with R2 values of 0.97 to 1.0, 0.95 to 1.0, and 0.96 to 1.0, respectively. The linear type II Langmuir isotherm performed much better (0.96 ≤ R2 ≤ 1.0) than the nonlinear isotherm. The maximum sorption capacity was obtained as 120.6 mg/g using CPKC at pH 9.0 and 35 °C. The Langmuir separation coefficient values (0.022 ≤ RL ≤ 0.926) show that the sorption of nickel to PKC is favorable. The most favorable sorption condition was found for CPKC at pH 9 and temperature of 40 °C. The values of sorption energy (8.21 ≤ E ≤ 14.27) and the isosteric heat of sorption (−133.09 ≤ ∆Hx ≤ −17.92) indicate that the mode of sorption is mostly ion exchange. Thermodynamic parameters also show that the process is exothermic and entropy-driven. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model shows the best correlation compared to the other kinetic models. The coefficient of correlation for the pseudo-second-order model was mostly within the range of 0.999–1.000 for 90% of all kinetic studies carried out.
Highlights
Novel biosorbents were derived from a waste product of palm kernel oil extraction known as palm kernel chaff (PKC)
x-ray fluorescence (XRF) results show that the dominant elements in uncarbonized palm kernel chaff (UPKC) are S (83.86%), Ti (10.08%), and Fe (3.96), while those in carbonized palm kernel chaff (CPKC) are Ca (47.16%), K (23.82%), S (15.69), Fe (5.10%), Ti (4.82%) and Mn (1.16%)
Complete removal (100%) of Ni (II) from solution was recorded for CPKC at pH 9 in 60 min
Summary
Novel biosorbents were derived from a waste product of palm kernel oil extraction known as palm kernel chaff (PKC). When consumed in massive amounts (> 0.5 g) through oral intake, some forms of nickel pose acute toxicity to humans, resulting in elevated skin irritation, cardiovascular diseases, as well as cancer[15,16,17,18] Several treatment processes such as chemical precipitation, adsorption, ion exchange, and membrane filtration have been deployed over the years to eliminate metal(oid)s in water and industrial wastewaters. Most of these techniques have some disadvantages, such as complicated treatment processes, high cost, and high energy requirement[19,20]. This study undertook a comprehensive investigation of the physicochemical conditions for biosorption of nickel from water by activated carbon made from palm kernel chaff (PKC), a waste biosorbent
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