Performance of Treated and Untreated Spent Coffee Ground on the Removal of Cu (II) in Aqueous Solution: A Comparative Study

Aini Sofia Md Isa,Zadariana Jamil

doi:10.13189/eer.2022.100105

Abstract

The performance of two types of spent coffee ground (SCG), (i) untreated spent coffee ground (USCG) and (ii) acid-treated spent coffee ground (TSCG) on the Cu (II) removal from aqueous solution was investigated and compared in this study. The effects of operating parameters such as pH, contact time and initial Cu (II) concentration on the adsorption rate were studied in batch adsorption mode. The USCG showed better results than the TSCG. The highest removal efficiency of Cu (II) (50 mg/L) by USCG was 91.03% with an adsorption capacity of 45.52 mg/g, which was achieved at pH 6 and 90 min of contact time. The TSCG showed lower performance with a removal efficiency of 44.18% and adsorption capacity of 37.06 mg/g. This may be due to the flushed off in the functional groups of SCG that used for metal binding in the adsorption during acid treatment and the existence of Cl- ions on the TSCG surface, interfering the Cu (II) adsorption and reduces its adsorption capacity. Freundlich fitted well with the equilibrium data for copper (II) removal, as indicated by the R2 coefficient, for USCG and TSCG were 0.9912 and 0.9622, respectively. These data indicate that both USCG and TSCG have high sorption capacity and affinity for metal ions. The USCG showed a better Cu (II) removal than the TSCG, indicating a promising function as a low-cost natural adsorbent for Cu (II) and also other heavy metals removals.

Highlights

Environmental problems have been classified as the biggest crisis arising due to rapid urbanization and industrialization due to the increase of pollutions
At pH 2, the removal efficiency of Cu (II) from the aqueous solution by both untreated spent coffee ground (USCG) and treated spent coffee ground (TSCG) is at the lowest, which is approximately 23%. This shows that higher concentration and high mobility of H+ ions lead to the minimum adsorption of Cu (II) at a low [16]
The results indicate that there was a reduction in Cu (II) ions adsorption, owing to the lack of available active adsorption sites required for higher Cu (II) concentrations

Summary

Introduction

Environmental problems have been classified as the biggest crisis arising due to rapid urbanization and industrialization due to the increase of pollutions. These pollutions spread when industrial productions operate without satisfactory respect towards the environment that led to adverse effects on health and lives, soil degradation as well as global impacts [1]. Namely arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, mercury, chromium, cobalt, zinc and selenium that are usually discharged from industrial activities such as electroplating, ceramic, glass and textiles are highly toxic, even at low concentrations [2]. Toxic metal pollutants are non-biodegradable and remain persistent in the environment for a very long time, resulting in bioaccumulation in aquatic lives when they polluted water bodies [3]. A high concentration of copper (Cu) discharges from industries such as smelting, mining, electroplating and fertilizer industries will affect

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion