Factorial experimental design optimisation of adsorption process for removing chrome ion using crude biomass

Abstract

ABSTRACT The pollution of water and the environment by heavy metals has recently increased dramatically, creating a severe environmental problem due to their non-biodegradability and high toxicity. Among these metals, we are interested in chromium (Cr), essential for human life but can be toxic in large quantities. It is vital to develop a simple, effective, and inexpensive method for its removal from aqueous media. This work aims to combine two aspects: environmental protection and waste recovery. We studied the adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) by biomass consisting of a mixture of walnut shells, pecan nuts, and peanuts. The ion was quantified using high-resolution magnetic sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and several techniques characterised the raw adsorbent. To optimise the removal of Cr(VI), four factors were optimised using a 24-full factorial design, enabling us to determine the optimum adsorption conditions: a contact time of 360 min, an adsorbent mass of 30 mg, an initial ion concentration of 50 mg/L, and a pH of 6. The response efficiency Y (Qe) achieved its optimum at 58.47976 ± 4.168804 (mg/g), resulting in a maximum desirability of 0.957419. The adsorption phenomenon was studied kinetically, and it was found to follow the pseudo-first-order reaction (R 2 = 0.9894); concerning adsorption isotherms, the Freundlich isotherm proved to be the best (R 2 = 1). Overall, the present biosorbent demonstrates excellent capacity to remove Cr (VI) from water and can be used on a large scale.