High-Efficiency Removal of Lead and Nickel Using Four Inert Dry Biomasses: Insights into the Adsorption Mechanisms

Abstract

In this study, inert dry bioadsorbents prepared from corn cob residues (CCR), cocoa husk (CH), plantain peels (PP), and cassava peels (CP) were used as adsorbents of heavy metal ions (Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺) in single-batch adsorption experiments from synthetic aqueous solutions. The physicochemical properties of the bioadsorbents and the adsorption mechanisms were evaluated using different experimental techniques. The results showed that electrostatic attraction, cation exchange, and surface complexation were the main mechanisms involved in the adsorption of metals onto the evaluated bioadsorbents. The percentage removal of Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺ increased with higher adsorbent dosage, with Pb²⁺ exhibiting greater biosorption capacity than Ni²⁺. The bioadsorbents showed promising potential for adsorbing Pb²⁺ with monolayer adsorption capacities of 699.267, 568.794, 101.535, and 116.820 mg/g when using PP, CCR, CH, and CP, respectively. For Ni²⁺, Langmuir's parameter had values of 10.402, 26.984, 18.883, and 21.615, respectively, for PP, CCR, CH, and CP. Kinetics data fitted by the pseudo-second-order model revealed that the adsorption rate follows this order: CH > CP > CCR > PP for Pb²⁺, and CH > CCR > PP > CP for Ni²⁺. The adsorption mechanism was found to be controlled by ion exchange and precipitation. These findings suggest that the dry raw biomasses of corn cob residues, cocoa husk, cassava, and plantain peels can effectively remove lead and nickel, but further research is needed to explore their application in industrial-scale and continuous systems.

Keywords: adsorption mechanism; bioadsorption; heavy metal ions; isotherms; kinetics; wastewater treatment.

Figure 1

pH_PZC for the bioadsorbents under study; vertical lines are the intercept points with the blank.

Figure 2

Bromatological analysis for selected biomasses.

Figure 3

FTIR spectra of bioadsorbents before and after the adsorption of (a) Pb²⁺ and (b) Ni²⁺.

Figure 4

SEM spectra of (a) PP, (b) CCR, (c) CH, and (d) CP before (left) and after the adsorption of Pb²⁺ (center) and Ni²⁺ (right) using particle size 0.5 mm and magnification of 500×.

Figure 5

Effect of the pH of (a) Pb²⁺ and (b) Ni²⁺ using bioadsorbents from PP, CCR, CH, and CP.

Figure 6

Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺ adsorption adjustment to non-linear kinetic models using (a) PP, (b) CCR, (c) CH, and (d) CP.

Figure 7

Pb²⁺ and Ni²⁺ adsorption adjustment to non-linear isotherm models using (a) PP, (b) CCR, (c) CH, and (d) CP.