Potential of maize cobs for removal cu(II) in aqueous systems

Iuliana Banu, Iuliana Aprodu

KEY WORDS: heavy metal, maize cobs, adsorption, isotherme

ABSTRACT

The removal of copper ion from aqueous solutions by adsorption on maize cobs was investigated. Adsorption of copper on maize cobs was shown to depend on the pH, sorbent dosage, contact time and initial metal ion concentration. The amount of the ions metal adsorbed increased with time. The sorption rate was 86% for Cu(II), after 60 minutes. This study showed that the sorption of copper ions on maize cobs is particle diffusion controlled. The rate coefficient for particle diffusion was 0.106 min¹. The suitability of the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models to the equilibrium was investigated. The best results were obtained for Freundlich isotherms. The percentage of ion metals adsorbed and the amount of ions metal adsorbed on the maize cobs increase with increasing pH and maize cobs dosage. On the bases of this study, it may be concluded that maize cobs can be used as low-cost sorbent, natural and abundant sources for the removal of metal ions.