Investigation of Efficient Adsorption of Toxic Heavy Metals (Chromium, Lead, Cadmium) from Aquatic Environment Using Orange Peel Cellulose as Adsorbent

Aminur Rahman (), Kazuhiro Yoshida, Mohammed Monirul Islam and Genta Kobayashi
Additional contact information
Aminur Rahman: Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Kazuhiro Yoshida: Laboratory of Phycology and Benthology, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, 1 Honjo-Cho, Saga 840-8502, Japan
Mohammed Monirul Islam: Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Clinical Pharmacy, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
Genta Kobayashi: Laboratory of Applied Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Saga University, 1 Honjo-Cho, Saga 840-8502, Japan

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: Heavy metals in the environment cause adverse effects on living organisms. Agro-wastes have the potential to remove heavy metals from aqueous solutions. In this study, the orange peel cellulose (OPC) beads were utilized as adsorbents to remove metals from wastewater. The surface of the adsorbent was studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). The concentrations of the metals before and after adsorption were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The removal of the metal ions (i.e., Cr 6+ , Cd 2+ , and Pb 2+ ) using the OPC was investigated by varying the pH, contact time, and adsorbent dosages parameters. The maximum removal efficiency obtained for the metal ions occurred at pHs 4–8. The use of the Langmuir isotherm and Freundlich isotherm models demonstrated the statistical significance of the heavy metal adsorption processes (R 2 > 0.96). At a neutral pH, the OPC adsorption order was Pb 2+ > Cd 2+ > Cr 6+ with % removal values of 98.33, 93.91, and 33.50, respectively. The adsorption equilibrium for Cr 6+ was reached after 36 h. For Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ , equilibrium was reached after 8 and 12 h, respectively. The FT-IR and SEM-EDS confirmed the presence of many functional groups and elements on the adsorbent. The adsorption of heavy metals using the OPC is a low-cost, eco-friendly, and innovative method for the removal of metals in aquatic environments. The findings of this study will be highly significant for the public in the affected areas worldwide that have credible health concerns due to water contamination with heavy metals.

Keywords: orange peel cellulose; adsorption; agro-wastes; bioremediation; chemical modification; heavy metals; polluted water; adsorption isotherms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/5/4470/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/5/4470/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:5:p:4470-:d:1085788

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().