Equilibrium, kinetic, and thermodynamic studies of lead (II) biosorption on sesame leaf

Abstract

Sesame leaf, an agricultural solid waste, was used as low cost adsorbent for removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution in batch mode. The biosorbent was characterized by thermo-gravimetric analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The influences of phase contact time, solution pH, adsorbent dosage, and initial concentrations were investigated to optimize the conditions for maximum adsorption. The experimental data were analyzed by Langmuir, Freundlich, and Koble-Corrigan isotherm models. The Koble-Corrigan and Langmuir isotherms best represented the measured biosorption data. According to an evaluation using the Langmuir equation, the adsorption capacity of the biosorbent was found to be 279.86 mg g-1, which was higher or comparable to the adsorption capacity of various adsorbents reported in the literature. The kinetics of adsorption of Pb(II) was evaluated by pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and intra-particle diffusion kinetic models. The experimental data fitted very well with the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The intra-particle diffusion model is not a dominant rate controlling mechanism in the sorption of Pb(II). Thermodynamic analysis showed that the adsorption was a spontaneous and endothermic process. The results indicated that sesame leaf can be used as an effective biosorbent for Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions.