Biosorptional Removal of Lead and Cadmium from Water by Waste Materials

In the present study, waste materials like rice bran and pine sawdust were investigated to assess their potential for removal of lead and cadmium from water by the process of biosorption by batch adsorption experiments studies. The obtained results showed that chemical treatment of biomasses, pH and initial concentration of heavy metals highly affect the overall metal sorption capacity of biosorbent. The effect chemical treatment of biomasses on the sorption of heavy metals showed that modified by NaCl greatly enhanced metals removal. The maximal biosorption removals of Pb(II) and Cd(II) were 99.25 and 98.25% on rice bran and 95.25 and 90.21% on pine sawdust at pH 6. The removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) by rice bran was high than that of pine sawdust. The two metal-biomass sorption processes were well fitted to the Langmuir equation. The two biosorbents presented quite high metals sorption ability, and all seemed to be especially suitable for removal of Pb(II). The two developed adsorbents were successfully applied for the effluent treatment of electroplating industry for Pb(I ) and Cd(II) removal and it was also a potential sorbent for Zn, Ca and Mg. This work showed that rice bran and pine sawdust can be used as efficient biosorbents for the metal ions, representing an effective and environmentally clean utilization of waste matter.