Abstract
In this study, the scales of Micropogonias undulatus fish were investigated as precursors for the development of low-cost biosorbent for the removal of Pb(II) and Zn(II) from aqueous media.The biosorbent was characterised using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Adsorption parameters (temperature, biosorbent dosage and contact time) were optimised using response surface methodology Box–Behnken experimental design. The optimal factors for Zn(II) removal by croaker fish scale were 145.5 min, 7.01 g/L biosorbent dosage, 30 °C and pH 5.4. The optimal factors for the removal of Pb(II) were 179.3 min, 6.61 g/L biosorbent dosage, 20 °C and pH 3.4. The numerical optimisation revealed that the optimal removal efficiency for Zn(II) and Pb(II) sorption is 96.45% and 98.76%, respectively. The biosorption of both heavy metals was best fit to Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. Thermodynamics studies revealed that the biosorption process was exothermic and spontaneous.
Highlights
Pollution of water bodies by industrial effluents has been a long-standing environmental problem globally (Babatunde et al 2019)
The aim of this study is to investigate the viability of the Micropogonias undulatus scales as a precursor in developing efficient and cost-effective biosorbents for the removal of Zn(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions and optimise the parameters by Box–Behnken design
The peak observed at 1535 cm−1 correspond to the presence of nitro compounds which does not shift frequency in the spectra of the fish scale loaded with Pb(II) and Zn(II) which implies that the nitro compounds may not be involved in the adsorption
Summary
Pollution of water bodies by industrial effluents has been a long-standing environmental problem globally (Babatunde et al 2019). This effluent has been established to contain heavy metals, dyes, pharmaceutically active compounds and a plethora of other inorganic pollutants that need to be mitigated in a variety of ways (Chandrakanth et al 2014; Eletta et al 2019). Biosorption can be defined as the removal of substances from a solution by biological material (Adeniyi and Ighalo 2019; Goeffrey 2008) This technology has been extensively investigated in the removal of heavy metals (Ighalo and Adeniyi 2020a). Bioaccumulation (ZabochnickaŚwiątek and Krzywonos 2014) describes an active process in which pollutant uptake involves the metabolic activity of a living organism (Abdi and Kazemi 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
