Biosorption of Pb (II) ions using rubber seed coat: equilibrium and kinetic studies

Biosorption of Pb (II) ions on untreated and treated rubber seed coat (RSC) using acid and base pre-treatment in an aqueous solution were investigated. Among the biosorbents, base-treated RSC were capable to remove Pb (II) ions higher than the untreated and acid-treated RSC. The analyses data were fitted well to Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. The kinetic studies were carried out at different initial metal ion concentrations and it was found that the pseudo second order model fitted well to the data by higher correlation coefficient, R² and the lower value of sum of squares error (SSE). FTIR, SEM and EDX analysis showed the involvement of functional groups and ion exchange mechanism during biosorption process.