Multifunctional Group Biomass in Biosorption of Cu2+ from Aqueous Solution: Kinetics and Isotherm Studies

Abstract

A novel, fibrous and multifunctional group surface biosorbent was prepared from the waste of Irvingia gabonensis (Dika nut-DN) seed. The biosorbent potential in cheap environmental remediation was tested using aqueous copper solution as adsorbate. Percentage Cu2⁺ removal was as high as 70 %. Sorption data were tested with various isotherms and kinetics models. Monolayer sorption dominates the uptake of Cu2⁺ onto DN with maximum monolayer sorption capacity of 227.27 mg/g. Some level of multilayer sorption also occurred within the Cu2⁺-DN system thus a greater than 0.9 correlation coefficient recorded for the Freundlich sorption isotherm. Possible
Cu2⁺ uptake mechanism onto DN was proposed. Pseudo second order kinetics best described the biosorption data while desorption results showed that Cu2⁺ was stable on DN surface.