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Removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and industrial effluent using natural biosorbents

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the research is to investigate the applicability of the low-cost natural biosorbents for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and effluent from battery industry.

Methods

Six different biosorbents namely rice straw, rice bran, rice husk, coconut shell, neem leaves, and hyacinth roots have been used for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution in batch process. All the biosorbents were collected from local area near Kolkata, West Bengal, India. The removal efficiency was determined in batch experiments for each biosorbent.

Results

The biosorbents were characterized by SEM, FTIR, surface area, and point of zero charge. The sorption kinetic data was best described by pseudo-second-order model for all the biosorbents except rice husk which followed intraparticle diffusion model. Pb(II) ions adsorption process for rice straw, rice bran, and hyacinth roots were governed predominately by film diffusion, but in the case of rice husk, it was intraparticle diffusion. Film diffusion and intraparticle diffusion were equally responsible for the biosorption process onto coconut shell and neem leaves. The values of mass transfer coefficient indicated that the velocity of the adsorbate transport from the bulk to the solid phase was quite fast for all cases. Maximum monolayer sorption capacities onto the six natural sorbents studied were estimated from the Langmuir sorption model and compared with other natural sorbents used by other researchers. The Elovich model, the calculated values of effective diffusivity, and the sorption energy calculated by using the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm were indicated that the sorption process was chemical in nature. The thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption processes were endothermic. FTIR studies were carried out to understand the type of functional groups responsible for Pb(II) ions binding process. Regeneration of biosorbents were carried out by desorption studies using HNO3. Battery industry effluents were used for the application study to investigate applicability of the biosorbents.

Conclusion

The biosorbents can be utilized as low-cost sorbents for the removal of Pb(II) ions from wastewater.

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Abbreviations

a 1 :

Elovich constant which gives an idea of the reaction rate constant

b :

Langmuir constant (in liters per milligram)

B :

Time-dependent factor

b 1 :

Elovich constants and represents the rate of chemisorption at zero coverage

C :

Intraparticle diffusion constant

C a :

Pb(II) ions concentration on the sorbent at equilibrium (in milligrams per liter)

Cabs :

The amount of Pb(II) adsorbed onto sorbent surface (in moles per gram)

C e :

Pb(II) ions concentration in solution at equilibrium (in milligrams per liter)

C 0 :

Initial Pb(II) ions concentration (in milligrams per liter)

C t :

Pb(II) ions concentration at time t (in milligrams per liter)

D e :

Effective diffusion coefficient of adsorbates in the sorbent phase (in square meters per second)

E :

Mean sorption energy (in kilojoules per mole)

F(t):

Ratio of amount of Pb(II) ions adsorbed per gram of sorbent at any time to that of at equilibrium time

∆G 0 :

Gibbs free energy (in kilojoules per mole)

∆H 0 :

Enthalpy (in kilojoules per mole)

K 1 :

Lagergren rate constant (per minute)

K 2 :

Pseudo-second-order rate constant (in milligrams per gram per minute)

K i :

Intraparticle rate constant (in milligrams per gram per square root of minute)

K bq :

The constant obtained by multiplying q max and b

\( K_c^0 \) :

Thermodynamic equilibrium constant

\( {K\prime_c} \) :

Apparent equilibrium constant

M :

Mass of the sorbent per unit volume (in grams per liter)

m s :

Amount of sorbent added in gram

n :

Freundlich constants intensity of sorption (in milligrams per gram)/(in milligrams per liter)1/n

n 1 :

An integer

q e :

Amount adsorb per gram of the sorbent at equilibrium

q max :

Maximum sorption capacity (in milligrams per gram)

q t :

Amount (in milligrams) adsorb per gram of sorbent

q tm :

Amount (in milligrams) adsorb per gram of sorbent from model

\( q_{ \propto } \) :

Amount (in milligrams) adsorb per gram of sorbent at infinite time

r 2 :

Correlation coefficient

R :

Ideal gas constant in kilojoules per mole per kelvin

R L :

Separation factor

R a :

Radius of the sorbent particle (in meter)

S S :

External surface area of the sorbent per unit volume (per meter)

∆S 0 :

Entropy (in kilojoules per mole kelvin)

t :

Time (in minutes)

T:

Temperature in kelvin

TDS:

Total dissolves solid

t 0 :

Elovich constant equals to 1/(a 1·b 1)

V :

Volume of the solution (in liters)

X m :

Maximum sorption capacity of sorbent (in millimoles per gram)

β :

Mass transfer coefficient (in centimeters per second)

λ :

Constant related to sorption energy (in square moles per square kilojoule)

ε :

Polanyi potential (in square kilojoules per square mole)

\( \chi_t^2 \) :

Chi-square value (\( \chi_t^2 = \sum {\frac{{{{({q_t} - {q_{{tm}}})}^2}}}{{{q_{{tm}}}}}} \))

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Acknowledgment

The authors acknowledge DST, Govt. of India for the financial support for the project work and fellowship to Mr. B. Singha (file no. DST/WTI/2K9/141, dated 19.05.2010).

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Calcutta, 92, A.P.C. Road,, Kolkata, 700009, India

    Biswajit Singha & Sudip Kumar Das

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  1. Biswajit Singha
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  2. Sudip Kumar Das
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Correspondence to Sudip Kumar Das.

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Responsible editor Vinod Kumar Gupta

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Singha, B., Das, S.K. Removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution and industrial effluent using natural biosorbents. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 2212–2226 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0725-8

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