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Biosorptive removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from wastewater using activated carbon from cassava peels

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Abstract

The ability of activated carbon from cassava peels to remove heavy metals like Cu(II) and Pb(II) from hospital wastewater was investigated. The study showed that a pH of 8 was the best for the sorption of both metal ions onto the biosorbent. The time-dependent experiments for the metal ions showed that the binding of the metal ions to the biomass was rapid and occurred within 20–120 min. Sorption efficiency increased with a rise in adsorbent dosage. It increased from 12 to 73 % for Pb(II) and 26 to 79 % for Cu(II) when the adsorbent dose increased from 2 to 12 g. An increase in temperature led to an increase in sorption for both metal ions. The Langmuir model showed that the biomass has a higher sorption capacity for Cu(II) than Pb(II), with q m = 5.80 mg g−1 for Pb(II) and 8.00 mg g−1 for Cu(II). The Freundlich isotherm K f was 1.4 for Pb(II) and 1.8 for Cu(II), indicating a preferential sorption of Cu(II) onto the biosorbent. Adsorption capacity was found to decrease with an increase in particle sizes. Sorption occurred by physical mechanisms and was mainly controlled by intraparticle diffusion.

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Acknowledgments

The author sincerely appreciates Dr. Augustine Asiagwu of the Chemistry Department at Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria for his technical assistance. The anonymous reviewers are also specially appreciated for their thorough reviews and useful comments, which indeed improved this manuscript.

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  1. Civil Engineering Department, Landmark University, P.M.B. 1001, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, Nigeria

    H. I. Owamah

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Correspondence to H. I. Owamah.

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Owamah, H.I. Biosorptive removal of Pb(II) and Cu(II) from wastewater using activated carbon from cassava peels. J Mater Cycles Waste Manag 16, 347–358 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-013-0192-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-013-0192-z

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