Biosorption of Lead(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution by Using Sulfuric Acid Modified Corncob

Yap, Weng Kiad (2016) Biosorption of Lead(II) Ions from Aqueous Solution by Using Sulfuric Acid Modified Corncob. Final Year Project (Bachelor), Tunku Abdul Rahman University College.

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Abstract

The industrialization throughout the world has resulted in the increased use of heavy metals which creating serious environmental disposal problems. Lead is one of the most serious environmental poisons amongst the toxic heavy metals, human exposure to lead would results in serious health hazards. Several research articles were published reporting the successful use of different kinds of agricultural wastes in the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewater. Agricultural wastes represent a potential source for producing biosorbents. The abundance of corncobs in many developing countries as well as its composition and cost effectiveness make it a strong candidate to be used as biosorbent. In this study, the corncobs undergo chemical activation by using sulfuric acid to enhance its adsorption capacity. The ability of sulfuric acid modified corncob for the removal of lead(II) ions from aqueous solution was evaluated. Batch experiment was conducted at room temperature to study the effect of adsorbent dosage, pH, initial metal concentration and contact time. The results show that the percentage removal of lead(II) ions by sulfuric acid modified corncob is higher when the adsorbent dosage is higher. The optimum pH was found to be pH7. The percentage removal of lead(II) ions is lower when the initial metal concentration is higher, and the percentage removal of lead(II) ions increases with contact time until it become saturated. The data collected were analyzed by using various adsorption isotherm models and kinetic models. The experiment data fits Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order model. The maximum biosorption capacity for the adsorption of Pb(II) ions onto sulfuric acid modified corncob was found to be 200 mg/g .