Abstract
The present study explores the effectiveness of Saraca indica leaf powder, a surplus low value agricultural waste, in removing Pb ions from aqueous solution. The influence of pH, biomass dosage, contact time, particle size and metal concentration on the removal process were investigated. Batch studies indicated that maximum biosorption capacity for Pb was 95.37% at the pH 6.5. The sorption process followed the first order rate kinetics. The adsorption equilibrium data fitted best to both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Morphological changes observed in scanning electron micrographs of untreated and metal treated biomass confirmed the phenomenon of biosorption. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of native and exhausted leaf powder confirmed lead biomass interactions responsible for sorption. Acid regeneration was tried for several cycles with a view to recover the sorbed metal ion and also to restore the sorbent to its original state. The findings showed that Saraca indica leaf powder can easily be envisaged as a new, vibrant, low cost biosorbent for metal clean up operations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abdel Ghani, N. T.; Hefny, M.; El Chaghaby, G. A. F., (2007). Removal of lead from aqueous solution using low cost abundantly available adsorbents. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 4(1), 67–73.
Adesola Babarinde, N. A.; Oyebamiji, B. J.; Adebowale, S. R., (2006). Biosorption of lead ions from aqueous solution by maize leaf. Int. J. Phy. Sci., 1(1), 023–026.
Brostlap, A. C.; Schuurmans, J., (1998). Kinetics of valine uptake in tobacco leaf disc. Comparison of wild types the digenic mutant and its monogenic derivatives, Planta. 176, 42–50.
Deans, J. R.; Dixon, B.G., (1992). Uptake of Pb 2+ and Cu2+ by novel biopolymers. Water Res., 26, 469–472.
Delvin, S., (2002). Amino acids and proteins, 1 st Ed., published by IVY publishing house, New Delhi, 53.
Gueu, S.; Yao, B.; Adouby, K.; Ado G., (2007) Kinetics and thermodynamics study of lead adsorption on to activated carbons from coconut and seed hulls of the palm tree. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Tech., 4(1), 11–17.
Iqbal, M.; Saeed, A.; Akhtar, N., (2002). Petiolar felt sheath of palm: a new biosorbent for the removal of heavy metals from contaminated water. Bioresour. Tech., 81(2), 151–153.
Lo, W.; Chua, H.; Lam K. H.; Bi, S. P., (1999). A comparative investigation on the biosorption of lead by filamentous fungal biomass. Chemosphere, 39(15), 2723–2736.
Muralikrishna, K. V. S. G, (1997). Chemical analysis of water and soil. A laboratory manual, Environmental Protection Society, National Institute of Ecology and Environment, Kakinada, India.
Pagnanelli, F.; Mainelli, S.; Veglio, F.; Michelis, I. D.; Beolchini, F.; Toro, L., (2006). Olive pomace for heavy metal removal: Adsorbent characterisation and equilibrium modelling. Acta. Metall., Slovaca, 12, 313–320.
Ray, S.; Chatterjee, B. P., (1995). A lectin from Saraca indica seed integument recognizes complex carbohydrates. Phytochemistry, 40(3), 643–649.
SPSS (1983). Statistical package for social science marketing department, SPSS. North Michigan Avenue, Chicago.
Vasuderan, P.; Padmavathy, V.; Dhingra, S. C., (2003). Kinetics of biosorption of cadmium on Baker’s yeast. Bioresour. Tech., 89(3), 281–287.
Vieira Regine, H. S. F.; Boya V., (2003). Biosorption: a solution to pollution? Int. Microbio., 3(1), 17–24.
Wealth of India (2003). Medicinal plants of India-An encyclopedia, (CSIR).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Goyal, P., Sharma, P., Srivastava, S. et al. Saraca indica leaf powder for decontamination of Pb: removal, recovery, adsorbent characterization and equilibrium modeling. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 5, 27–34 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325994
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03325994