Biosorption of Heavy Metals by Powder of Green Coconut Shell

Alternative processing methods are being considered more seriously, sorption and/or complexation of dissolved metals based on the chemical activity of biomass, known as biosorption, is the base of the new technology for metal removal and recovery. Different types of biomass (dead and alive) like bacteria, yeast, bark, fungi, agricultural by‐products, coconut shell, marine algae, peat, moss and aquatic mosses have been investigated for biosorption of heavy metals ions. Biosorption of each of the metal ions by coconut shell powder was investigated in this study. The biosorption capacities of coconut shell for cadmium, chromium, and arsenic were studied at different particle sizes (0.044–0.297 mm), initial metal concentration (20– 1000 mg/L), and solution pH values 2–9 Churchill, S. A., Walters, J. V. and Churchill, P. F. 1995. Sorption of heavy metals by prepared bacterial cell surface. J. Environ. Eng., 121(10): 706–711. Kuyucak, N. and Volesky, B. 1988. Biosorbents for recovery of metals from industrial solutions. Biotechnol. Lett., 10(2): 137–142. Espósito, A., Pagnanelli, F., Lodi, A., Solisio, C. and Veglio, F. 2001. Biosorption of heavy metals by Sphaerotilus natans: an equilibrium study at different pH and biomass concentration. Hydrometallurgy, 60: 129–141. Pino, G. A.H. 2005. “Biosorption of heavy metals using powder of green coconut shell”. Brazil: Master's Thesis, Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro. (In Portuguese) Chandra, K., Kamala, C. T., Chary, N. S. and Anjaneyulu, Y. 2003. Removal of heavy metals using a plant biomass with reference to environmental control. International Journal of Mineral Processing, 68: 37–45. Dornellas de Barros, M. A. 2000. Remoção de metais em água utilizando diversos adsorventes. Revista Tecnológica, : 65–72. Ed especial Gaballah, I., Goy, D., Kilbertus, G. and Thauront, J. 1994a. Decontamination of industrial effluents for environment protection and recycling of metals. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 10: 97–106. Schneider, I., Rubio, J. and Smith, R. 2001. Biosorption of metals onto plant biomass: exchange adsorption or surface precipitation?. International Journal of Mineral Processing, 62: 111–120. in batch mode, the experimental data obtained for each metal were evaluated and fitted using adsorption models. Also, analyses were made of biomass by SEM‐EDS before and after the biosorption to confirm the presence of metal ions species.