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International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology E-ISSN 2277 – 4106, P-ISSN 2347 – 5161
©2015 INPRESSCO®, All Rights Reserved Available at http://inpressco.com/category/ijcet
Research Article
2926| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
Abstraction of Cu and Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum
Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
jibrin Noah Akoji†*, Yisa Jonathan‡, Okafor Joseph Onyebuchiϯ and Mann Abdullahi‡
†Department of Petroleum Chemistry, Baze University, Abuja, Nigeria
‡Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
ϯDepartment of Chemical Engineering, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Nigeria
Accepted 29 Aug 2015, Available online 31 Aug 2015, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
Abstract
The physicochemical properties and adsorption performance of activated carbon prepared from sandal fruits for the
removal of lead and copper from aqueous solution was investigated using batch adsorption process. The influence of
important parameters like initial metal concentration, temperature, pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time were
studied. The result indicated that adsorption capacity increased with increase in the initial metal concentration, pH,
adsorbent dosage and contact time up to an equilibrium point when adsorption stabilizes or decrease with further
change in the parameters. The sorption process either decreases with increased temperature or does not change with
changed in temperature. FTIR analysis results of the adsorbent includes; 3250-3400 cm-1; 1640-1670 cm-1; 1000-1260
cm-1 which revealed the presence of functional groups such as the carboxylic acid or alcoholic O-H bond stretching,
amine (N-H) bond stretching, C=O bond of carbonyl or amide groups, C-O and O-H bond stretching of alcohol and
ethers. The surface area, iodine number, bulk density, particle density, ash content and porosity of the adsorbent
determined were; 649.5m2/g, 614.7 mg/g, 0.921g/cm3, 0.72g/cm3 and 26.4% respectively The equilibrium sorption
data proved that the process fit well into Freundlich better than Langmuir isotherm model as indicated with high
correlation coefficients high ˃ 0.95 . The results obtained in this study indicated the high adsorption ability of sandal
fruit for Pb and Cu, proving it to be excellent biosorbent.
Keywords: batch adsorption, sandal fruit, lead, copper, removal, adsorption, isotherms, surface area, pollutants,
concentration.
Introduction
1
In recent years, increasing awareness of water
pollution and its far reaching effects has prompted
concerted efforts towards pollution abatement (M.
Ajmal et al, 2003). Contamination of aqueous
environments by heavy metals is a worldwide
environmental problem due to their toxic effects and
accumulation through the food chain (Akbal, F. and
Nuronar, 2003; Demirbas, 2008). Heavy metals are
major pollutants in marine, ground, industrial and even
treated wastewater (B. Dhir, 2009). The presence of
heavy metals in drinking water can be hazardous to
consumers; these metals can damage nerves, liver and
bones and block functional groups of vital enzymes
(Argun, M et al, 2007).
Metal ions in water can occur naturally from
leaching of ore deposits and from anthropogenic
sources, which mainly include industrial effluents and
solid waste disposal (Bunluesin, S et al, 2007). Due to
rapid development of industrial activities in recent
*Corresponding author: jibrin Noah Akoji
years, the levels of heavy metals in water system have
substantially increased over time (Elangovan, R et al.,
2008; Hashem et al, 2007). Among these metal ions,
the ions of Cd, Zn, Hg, Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, etc. gain
importance due to their high toxic nature even at very
low concentrations.
Various methods such as precipitation, ion
exchange, electrodialysis and filtration are available to
isolate and remove these heavy metals from the
environment. However, these methods have limitations
on selective separation and high cost of investment and
operation of equipment (Igwe, J. C. and Abia, A. A ,
2007; Jalali, R et al, 2002). Adsorption is one of the
easiest, safest and most cost-effective methods because
it is widely used in effluent treatment processes (Juang,
R et al, 1996). In the last few years, adsorption has
been shown to be an economically feasible alternative
method and an effective purification and separation
technique for removing trace metals from wastewater
and water supplies (Keskinkan et al, 2007; Langmuir I.,
1918) Activated carbon is the mostly-used adsorbent;
nevertheless, it is relatively expensive among other
sorbents and its use depends on the degree of the
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2927| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
required treatment process and the local availability of
activated carbon (Aksu, Z. and Yener, J., 2001).
Agricultural wastes are produced in excess of 100
million tons as a by-product of the milling industry of
which 96% is generated in developing countries.
The utilization of this source of biomass would
solve some disposal problem as well as access to
cheaper materials for adsorption in water pollutants
control (Al-Asheh, 2000). It has been reported that
wood wastes such as sawdust, barks and tree leaves
effectively adsorbed lead and copper species from
aqueous systems (Alnaizy, R. and Akgerman, A., 2000).
By using natural agricultural waste fibers, the
adsorption of pollutants from aqueous solutions can be
much more economical with regard to other similar
physico-chemical processes (Elifantz, H. and Tel-Or, E.,
2002). Biosorption is the uptake of heavy metal ions
and radionuclides from aqueous environments by
biological materials, such as algae, bacteria, yeast,
fungi, plant leaves and root tissues, which can be used
as biosorbents for detoxification and recovery of toxic
or valuable metals from industrial discharges(
Freundlich, H. M. F, 1906; Banat, F. A et al, 2000;
Baylor, S. E et al, 1999). It has many advantages
including low capital and operating costs, selective
removal of metals, biosorbent regeneration and metal
recovery potentiality, rapid kinetics of adsorption and
desorption and no sludge generation. Biosorption
technology has been shown to be a feasible alternative
for removing heavy metals from wastewater
(Bazrafshan, E et al, 2006; Beltran, F. J et al, 2005). The
binding mechanisms of heavy metals by biosorption
could be explained by the physical and chemical
interactions between cell wall ligands and adsorbents
by ion exchange, complexation, coordination, chelation,
physical adsorption and micro-precipitation
(Benguella B and Benaissa, H, 2002). The diffusion of
the metal from the bulk solution to active sites of
biosorbents predominantly occurs by passive
transport mechanisms and various functional groups
such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, amino and phosphate
existing on the cell wall of biosorbents which can bind
the heavy metals (Cheung, C. W, 2001) Cost is an
important parameter for comparing the sorbent
materials (Cossich, E. S, 2002). The aim of this study is
to undertake adsorption studies of Cu and Pb removal
by modified sandal fruit waste biomass.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Biosorbents Collection and Preparation
The low cost adsorbents used in this study were
derived from fruits of sandal tree (santalum album).
This waste was selected because of its availability and
desirable physical characteristics. The sample was
obtained from home environment in Ankpa local
Government area, Kogi State, Nigeria, where it is
generated as primary agricultural waste. These were
extensively washed to remove dirt and other
particulate matter that might interact with sorbed
metal. They were washed with distilled water, sun
dried and ground. The sample was sieved to particle
size of 200. The material after sieving was soaked
for twenty four hours in a solution prepared from
sulphuric acid, then placed in a crucible and positioned
at the center of a muffle furnace preheated to 5000C for
1 hr to produce the activated carbon (AC) which was
cooled in desiccators.
2.2 Synthetic Wastewater Preparation
Stock solutions (1000 mg/L) of, Pb and Cu were
prepared by dissolving the required gramme of
Pb(NO3)2 and CuSO4.5H2O in 1 L of distilled water. The
stock solutions were diluted with distilled water to
obtain the desired initial concentrations.
2.3 Batch adsorption studies
The experiments were carried out in the batch mode
for the measurements of adsorption capacities, and to
generate adsorption kinetics (Dadhich, A. S. et al,
2004). The effect of pH (1, 2, 3, 4, 5and 6), contact time
(30-180 minutes), adsorbent dose (0.2-1g/l) and initial
metal ion concentration (10-50mg/l) on biosorption at
room temperature were studied using stopper bottles.
The initial pH of solution was adjusted by using 0.05 M
HCl or 0.05M NaOH without changing the volume of the
sample. After agitating the sample for the required
contact time, the contents were centrifuged and
filtered through Whatman No.41 filter paper and
unadsorbed Cu and Pb in the filtrate were analyzed by
atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Dae, W. C.,
2005).
The adsorption capacity, qe, was calculated as:
q = V (Ci – Cf) (1)
S
q = Metal ion uptake capacity (mgg-1), Ci = initial
concentration of metal in solution, before the sorption
analysis (mgI-1), Cf = final concentration of metal in
solution, after the sorption analysis (mgI-1), S = dry
weight of biosorbent (g), V = solution volume (L). The
difference between the initial metal ion concentration
and final metal ion concentration was assumed to be
bound to the biosorbent.
2.4 Characterization of Sandal fruit
The chemical characterization of sandal fruits was
performed after grinding and sieving. The following
parameters were measured: ash content was evaluated
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2928| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
in a muffle furnace at 550ºC for 8 h (Dakikiy, M. et al,
2002); organic matter was calculated by subtracting
ash from dry matter; the iodine number was
determined based on method used by Danati-Tilaki, R.
et al, (2004) by using the sodium thiosulphate
volumetric method; the specific surface area of the
activated carbon was estimated using Sear’s method
(Kahraman, S. et al,2008); Bulk density and particle
density were determined using method used by
Karthikeyan, T. et al, (2005); porosity was determined
from the values obtained for bulk density and particle
density; functional groups were determined by FTIR;
Surface morphology was determined by scanning
electron microscope.
2.5 Adsorption Isotherms
Adsorption from aqueous solution is usually correlated
by Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms. The Langmuir
model makes assumptions such as monolayer
adsorption and constant adsorption energy while the
Freundlich model deals with heterogeneous
adsorption. Langmuir equation of adsorption isotherm
according to Keskinkan, O. et al, (2004) is:
(2)
Where qmax and b are the Langmuir constants. The plot
of Ce / qe vs Ce / qmax is linear and the constant qmax
and b is evaluated from slope and intercept.
The Freundlich equation of adsorption isotherm
according to Davis, T. A. et al, (2003) is:
(3)
Where q is the amount adsorbed per unit mass of
adsorbent and Cf is equilibrium concentration. The plot
of log q vs log Cf is linear and constants K and n is
evaluated from slopes and intercepts.
2.6 Adsorption Kinetics of Pb and Cu
The pseudo first order and second order kinetic model
have been widely used to predict the metal adsorption
kinetics.
The metal adsorption kinetics following the pseudo
first order model is given by Entezari, M. H. et al,(2003)
as;
dq/dt = Ki (qe – q) (4)
where
q : Amount of metal adsorbed at any time (mg/g),
(mol/g)
qe : Amount of metal adsorbed at equilibrium time
(mg/g), (mol/g)
ki : Pseudo first order rate constant (min-1)
A pseudo-second order rate model reported as
developed by American Society for Testing and
Materials, (1986) was applied in the following form;
t/qt = 1/ho + 1/(qe)t (5)
Where
ho = the initial adsorption rate (mg/g min)
qe = the amount of metal ion adsorbed at equilibrium
(mg/g)
qt = the adsorbed at time t (mg/g)
The initial adsorption rate, ho, as t’→ 0 is defined as:
h = K2qe2
Where,K2 is the pseudo second order rate constant for
the adsorption process (g/mg min).The initial
adsorption rate ho, the equilibrium adsorption capacity,
and the rate constant K2 were determined from the
slope and intercept of the plot of t/qt against t.
3. Result and Discussion
3.1 Physicochemical Properties of Sandal fruit adsorbent
The physicochemical characteristics of the adsorbent
were analyzed as outlined under materials and
methods and are summarized in table 1 below.
Table 1: Physicochemical properties of Sandal fruit
adsorbent
Parameter
Adsorbent Values
Bulk density (g/cm3)
0.92
Ash (%)
4.45
Iodine number(mg/g)
649.5
Surface area(m2/g)
615
Particle density (g/cm3)
1.25
Porosity (%)
26.4
The results were reported as the average values of the
analyzed samples obtained from the duplicate
experiments. The specific surface area of velvet
tamarind further confirmed their porous nature (Al-
Qodah, Z., and Shawabkah, 2009).
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2929| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
Figure 1 Fourier Transforms Infrared (FTIR) spectra of Sandal fruit before treatment
Figure 2 Fourier Transforms Infrared (FTIR) spectra of Sandal fruit before treatment
3.2 Fourier Transform Infrared Analysis of Adsorbent
Figure 1and 2 below showed the FTIR spectral of
adsorbents sandal fruit before and after treatment. The
FTIR spectral of adsorbent (sandal fruit) before the
adsorption of metals were used to determine the
vibration frequency changes in the functional groups.
The spectra of adsorbents were measured within the
range of 400 – 4000cm-1 wave number. The pre-
adsorption FTIR analysis results (figure 1) suggested
the presence of such functional groups as the
carboxylic acid or alcoholic O-H bond stretching which
may overlap with amine (N-H) bond stretching at
peaks between 3250-3400 cm-1; possible C=O bond of
carbonyl or amide groups within 1640-1670 cm-1; C-O
and O-H bond stretching of alcohol and ethers at 1000-
1260 cm-1 of the finger-print region. These identified
regions may be indicative of functional groups
responsible for the individual metal-binding activity of
the adsorbent (Alzaydian, A. S, 2009)
3.3 SEM Images
The morphology of sandal fruit biomass was studied by
using Scanning Electron microscope (SEM). SEM
images obtained at different magnifications were
shown in Figures 3 below.
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2930| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
Figure 3: SEM images of sandal fruit
According to Nameni, M., (2008), adsorbent with a
surface area of 144m2/g and above can be classified as
micro porous. Porous nature and fibril structures are
an indication of availability of more active sites on the
adsorbent (Association of Official Analytical Chemists,
1990)
3.4 Effect of Initial metal ion concentration
The amount of metal ions adsorbed is a function of the
initial concentration of the adsorbate (metal ion),
making it an important factor in effective adsorption.
The effect of initial metal ion concentration (10 to 50
mg/l) on the adsorption of Pb and Cu ions onto
modified sandal fruit is shown in Fig. 4 below.
Figure 4 Plot of amount of Pb and Cu ions adsorbed by
Sandal fruit in mg/g versus Initial concentration of the
metals in aqueous solution (Temp.28±20C; pH.5.5,
Agitation 200 rpm)
Initial concentrations of the metals were varied from
10 to 50 mg l-1 and quantity of adsorbent was kept
constant at 1 gm l-1. It was found that, as the
concentration of Pb and Cu ions in solution increases,
the amount adsorbed by the adsorbent increases. The
adsorption capacity of the adsorbent for metal ions
increased with the metal concentration, as the
increasing concentration gradient overcomes the
resistance to mass transfer of metal ions between the
aqueous phase and the adsorbent (Esplugas, S. et al,
2002). A higher concentration in a solution means
higher concentration of metal ions to be fixed on the
surface of the adsorbent (Figueira, M. W. et al, 2000).
At maximum concentration of 42 mg/L, 3.7 mg/g of
Cu(II) ions were adsorbed while 2.5mg/g of Pb was
adsorbed at maximum concentration of 40mg/g. The
results showed that the amount of the metal ions
bound by the cellulosic substrate depended on the
metal ions type and the concentration of the metal
ions. The level of metal ions uptake followed this order
Cu>Pb. The difference in the uptake levels of the metal
ions can be explained in terms of the difference in the
ionic size and atomic mass of the metal ions, the mode
of interaction between the metal ions and the substrate
(Gholami, F.et al, 2006),. The initial faster rate of
removal of each metal ion could be due to the
availability of more adsorbent active sites at the
beginning due to large surface area of the adsorbent;
adsorption kinetics depends on the surface area of the
adsorbent (Han, W. et al, 2004). Sandal fruit has
surface area of 615m2/g. The initial faster rate of
adsorptions might also be due to the progressive
increase in the electrostatic interaction between the
metal ions and the absorbent active sites. In addition,
higher initial concentrations led to an increase in the
affinity of the metal ions towards the active sites
(Khalid, N. et al, 2000).
3.5 Effect of temperature
The results regarding the effect of temperature on the
biosorption of Cu and Pb ions by sandal fruit are shown
in Figures 5 below.
Figure 5 Plot of amount of Cu and Pb ions adsorbed by
Sandal fruit versus Temperature (pH.5.5, Agitation 200
rpm for 90 minutes, Initial conc. (Ci) 100 mg/l-1).
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
020 40 60
Amount adsorbed in mg/g
Initial concentration in mg/l
SFCu SFPb
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
020 40 60 80
Amount adsorbed in mg/g
Temp in oC
SFPb SFCu
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2931| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
The figure showed the adsorption of heavy metals ions
namely, Cu2+ and Pb2+ onto sandal fruit at five different
temperatures of 300C, 400C, 50oC, 600C and 700C. The
uptake of Cu did not show any significant changes with
increase in temperature which shows that changes in
temperature has no effect on the adsorption of Cu by
sandal fruits. According to Lathasreea, S. et al, (2004)
increasing the temperature will only increase the rate
of adsorbate diffusion across the external boundary
layer and in the internal pores of adsorbent particle
because liquid viscosity decreases as temperature
increases. The uptake of Pb ions increased
considerably from 16 to 27mg/g with increase in
temperature from 40ºC to about 45ºC and become
stable. The temperature higher than 40ºC can cause a
change in the texture of the biomass and thus reduced
its sorption capacity (Lesko, T. M., 2004). Temperature
affects the equilibrium capacity of the adsorbate
depending on whether the reaction is exothermic or
endothermic (Low, K. S., 2000). Biomass contains more
than one type of sites for metal binding and the effect
of temperature on each site is different and contributes
to overall metal uptake (Ma, W. and Tobin, J. M., 2003)
3.6 Effect of contact time
Contact time play a very important role in efficient
removal of heavy metals using sandal fruit. The
influence of contact time on the adsorption capacity for
Cu and Pb is shown in figure 6 below.
Figure 6; Plot of amount of Pb and Cu ions adsorbed by
Sandal fruit versus contact time (Temp.28±20C; pH.5.5,
Agitation 200 rpm , Initial conc. (Ci) 100 mg/l-1)
The result clearly revealed that the rate of adsorption
of both metal ions increases with time up to an
equilibrium time of 90 minutes and decreases
thereafter. At the maximum contact time, 27 and 31
mg/g of Pb and Cu were adsorbed respectively. This
differential sorption of metal ions may be ascribed to
the difference in their ionic radii as it follows in the
study by Mahamuni, N. N. and Pandit, A. B.,( 2005).It
may also be due the reductant behavior of the biomass
(Mahvi, A. H. et al, 2004). Cu ions have more reductable
behaviour as compared to Pb so it is higher uptake by
santalum album biomass. The result clearly revealed
that the rate of adsorption is higher at the beginning
which could be due to availability of a large number of
active sites. As these sites are exhausted, the uptake
rate is control by the rate at which the adsorbate is
transported from the exterior to interior sites of the
adsorbent particles (Mahvi, A. H. and Bazrafshan, E.,
2005).
3.7 Effect of Adsorbent dosage
The effect of varying the adsorbent mass on the
adsorption of Pb and Cu is shown in Figure 7 below.
Amount of metal ions adsorbed increases as the
adsorbent mass increases which are due to increment
in the number of binding sites for the ions . To achieve
the maximum biosorption capacity of the biosorbent
for Cu and Pb, the biomass concentration was varied
from 0.2 to 1 g/l and it was found that a concentration
of 0.8g/l was sufficient for maximum biosorption of 6.9
and 7.4mg/I for Cu and Pb ions respectively. It is seen
from this Figure that a further increase in biomass does
not affect the sorption percentage greatly which is in
agreement with literature reports indicating lower
biosorbed metal concentrations (q) at high adsorbent
concentrations (Mahvi, A. H. et al, 2007a). The primary
factor explaining this characteristic is that adsorption
sites remain unsaturated during the adsorption
reaction, whereas the number of sites available for
adsorption site increases by increasing the adsorbent
dose.
Figure7; Plot of amount Cu and Pb ions adsorbed by
sandal fruit versus adsorbent dosage (Temp.28±20C;
pH.5.5, Agitation 200 rpm , Initial metal conc ; 100
mg/l)
3.8 Effect of pH
pH controls the metal ion dissolution and the
magnitude of the electrostatic charge in the medium
(Mahvi, A. H et al, 2005). The percent of metal sorption
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
050 100 150 200
Amount adsorbed in mg/g
Contac time in mins
SFPb SFCu
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
0 0.5 1 1.5
Amount adsorbed in mg/g
Adsorbent dosage in g
SFCu SFPb
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2932| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
varies with pH of the medium. The experimental
results of Cu and Pb sorption using sandal fruits at
varying pH ranges was shown in the Figure 8. Effect of
pH on biosorption was studied over a range of 1 to 6.
Figure 8 Plot of amount of Cu and Pb ions adsorbed
bysandal fruits versus pH (Temp.28±20C; Agitation 200
rpm , Initial metal conc ; 100 mg/l)
The biomass showed high sorption of 41.2 and
40.23mg/l for Pb and Cu at pH 5.6. The sorption of Pb
and Cu decreases with further increase in pH. The
optimal pH for the biosorption of the metals by sandal
fruit is therefore 5.6. At low pH value, the H+ ions
compete with metal cation for the exchange sites in the
system thereby partially releasing the metal cations
(Mahvi, A. H. et al, 2007b). pH affects both cell surface
metal binding sites and metal chemistry in water. At
low pH values, the functional groups of the biosorbent
are closely associated with the hydronium ions and
repulsive forces limit the approach of the metal ions.
With increasing pH, more functional groups such as
amino and carbonyl groups, would be exposed leading
to attraction between these negative charges and the
metals and hence increases in biosorption on to the
surface of adsorbent (Schwarzenbach, R. P et al, 2003)
The lower uptake at higher pH value is probably due to
the formation of anionic hydroxide complexes (Sekhar,
K.C. et al, 2003).
3.9 Equilibrium Model
The Langmuir and Freundlich parameters are
determined from a linear regression presented in
Table 2 below, to examine the relationship between
uptake capacity (q) and aqueous concentrations (Ci) at
equilibrium. Sorption isotherm models are widely
employed for fitting the data, of which the Langmuir
and Freundlich equations are the most widely used
(Singh, K. K. et al, 2006), The Langmuir and Freundlich
adsorption constants evaluated from the isotherms
with correlation coefficients are presented in Table 2,
which illustrates the relationship between adsorbed
and aqueous concentration at equilibrium.
Table 2; The values of Freundlich and Langmuir Isotherms parameters obtained from the plot
Heavy metal
Adsorbent
Freundlich
Langmuir
R2
Kf
n
R2
Qm
b
Cu
Sf
0.898
0.002
0.479
0.49
0.814
0.022
Pb
Sf
0.932
0.814
3.115
0.983
2.941
0.134
Table 3; The values of First- order and second order parameters obtained from the plot
Heavy metal
Adsorbent
First Order
Second Order
R2
K1
qe
R2
qe
K2
Cu
Sf
0.717
0.001
0.02
1
52.632
0.0004
Pb
Sf
0.132
0.001
0.045
0.949
47.619
0.0004
Both models represent better absorption process for
Pb due to high value of correlation coefficients (R2).
Constant b in Langmuir is related to the energy of
absorption through the Arrhenius equation. The higher
value of b represents the higher affinity of the
biosorbent for the metal ions (Sud D. et al, 2008).
According to the data in Table 2, the affinity order of
sandal fruits biosorbent is: Pb > Cu. The qmax value is
the maximum value of q, is important to identify the
biosorbent highest metal uptake capacity and as such
useful in scale-up considerations (Sud D. et al, 2008).
The magnitude of the experimental qmax for sandal
fruits biomass found to be 0.814 and 2.941 mgg-1 for
copper and lead metal ions are comparable with
theoretically calculated qmax values from Langmuir and
Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum absorption
capacity of 2.941 observed of Pb on sandal fruit is
suggesting that it is a potential biosorbent for removal
of lead. qmax can also be interpreted as the total
number of binding sites that are available for
biosorption and q as the number of binding sites that
are in fact occupied by the metals. Qmax for Pb > Cu.
Small value of K indicate the minimal adsorption and
large value indicates more adsorption (Verma, V. K. et
al, 2008) while 1/n is used as an indication of whether
adsorption remains constant (at 1/n = 1) or decreases
with increasing metal ions concentrations (with 1/n
≠1).
3.10 Adsorption Kinetics of Pb and Cu:
The adsorption kinetic of Cu2+ and Pb2+ ions were
modeled using the pseudo first order and pseudo
second order equations and the result were presented
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
0 2 4 6 8
Amount adsorbed in mg/l
pH
SF Pb SFCu
jibrin Noah Akoji et al Abstraction of Cu AND Pb Ions from Aqueous Solution using Santalum Album (Sandal Fruit Shell) Activated Carbon
2933| International Journal of Current Engineering and Technology, Vol.5, No.4 (Aug 2015)
in table 3. The pseudo second order model seem to
provide better correlation with the adsorption data of
Cu2+ and Pb2+ with correlation values of more than 0.9.
4. Conclusion
The present work evaluated the potential of sandal
fruit for the removal of Cu and Pb from aqueous
solutions. The results obtained in this study indicated
high adsorption ability of sandal fruit for Pb and Cu.
The equilibrium sorption data proved that the process
conformed to Freundlich better than Langmuir
isotherm model as depicted with high correlation
coefficients. The data fit into the second-order kinetic
model. The concentration of the heavy metals analyzed
during the study decreased significantly during the
experimental period, proving the subtrates to be
excellent biosorbent. Therefore, it can be well utilized
as an inexpensive biosorbent for the removal of heavy
metals from an aqueous solution.
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