Abstract
Agricultural and processing activities generate enormous amounts of tobacco waste, and the stalks left after harvesting of the leaves constitute a significant share. The stalks of common tobacco (N. tabacum L.) were considered a promising source for processing and recycling, but very little is known about the properties of the stalks from other Nicotiana species. The aim of present study was to examine the performance of stalk powders from three Nicotiana species grown side-by-side in Bulgaria for the ability to remove Cr (VI) ions from aqueous solutions. The characterization of applied biosorbents was conducted by FTIR analysis. Batch experiments were carried out and the effects of different adsorption process parameters were determined. Maximum removal efficiencies of 99.13±0.55%, 98.33±0.58% and 95.00±0.50% for N. tabacum, N. rustica L. and N. alata Link&Otto, respectively, were obtained at pH 3.0, adsorbent dosage 5 g/L, initial Cr (VI) concentration 10 mg/L, temperature 25.0 ± 0.5oC, agitation speed 200 rpm and contact time 60 min. The Langmuir and Freundlich models fitted well the equilibrium isotherms experimental data. Based on the values determined for the maximum adsorption capacity, the powder from N. alata stalks was found to have higher affinity (9.87 mg/g) for Cr (VI) ions than those obtained from N. tabacum (8.38 mg/g) and N. rustica (6.96 mg/g) stalks.
Highlights
Heavy metal pollution has become a serious problem nowadays, reflecting the fact that these toxic elements accumulate in the food chain and subsequently affect all living organisms in a given biological system (Zhang et al, 2019)
The raw and wastewaters infiltrated with heavy metals have to be treated, because they threat both the ecosystems and public health
Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) characterization of biosorbents The three biosorbents used in the present study were subjected to the FTIR spectral analysis in order to tabacum (b) and N. rustica (c)
Summary
Heavy metal pollution has become a serious problem nowadays, reflecting the fact that these toxic elements accumulate in the food chain and subsequently affect all living organisms in a given biological system (Zhang et al, 2019). The raw and wastewaters infiltrated with heavy metals have to be treated, because they threat both the ecosystems and public health. Much attention has been paid to the adsorption of heavy metals and it has become one of the most frequently used methods for wastewater treatment, due to its simplicity in handling and relatively low exploitation price (Zhang et al, 2019). There has been a tendency to use natural biosorbents, especially waste materials, because of their low price, large availability, high efficiency, biodegradability and safety. Most of the adsorption studies have considered on using plant waste, because such lignocellulose materials carry a large number of functional groups, which have affinity to bind metal ions (Gardea-Torresday et al, 2004; Wang & Chen, 2009). Agricultural waste, like stalks, stems, shells, husks, hulls, peels, etc., has been reported to possess the ability to absorb heavy metals from aqueous solutions (Demirbas, 2008; Hlihor & Garvilescu, 2009; Nandini et al, 2015)
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