AGRICULTURAL WASTE MATERIALS AS POTENTIAL ADSORBENT FOR REMOVAL OF HEAVY METALS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS

The potential of frond and leaf samples prepared from dump palm tree to remove Pb (II) and Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions was investigated at different contact time and adsorbent concentrations. The amount of metal ions removed from the solutions depended on the metal ion concentrations and contact time. The best condition for sorption of Pb (II) and Cu (II) is 90-minutes contact time for both substrates. The experiment showed that the amount of metal ions adsorbed varied with metal ion concentration and the order of removal of Pb (II) and Cu (II) by the substrates were Cu (II) > Pb (II). Furthermore, Cu (II) had higher percentage removal than Pb (II) ions in both adsorbents. It was observed that frond sample indicated higher adsorptive capacity than leaf samples of dump palm tree. The equilibrium data were well described by Freundlish model. These results have demonstrated the immense potential of these adsorbents as an alternative substrate for toxic metal ions remediation in waste waters and aqueous solutions.