Application of maize tassel for the removal of Pb, Se, Sr, U and V from borehole water contaminated with mine wastewater in the presence of alkaline metals

Caliphs M. Zvinowanda, Jonathan O. Okonkwo, Mahlatse M. Sekhula, Nana M. Agyei, Rotimi Sadiku

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

46 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In this study, the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions by tassel powder was studied and optimised. Batch experiments were conducted on simulated solutions using tassel powder adsorbent and the effects of contact time, pH and concentration on the extent of Pb (II) removal was studied. Equilibrium and kinetic models for Pb(II) sorption were developed by considering the effect of contact time and concentration at optimum pH 4 and fixed temperature(25 °C). The Freundlich model was found to describe the sorption energetics of Pb(II) on tassel more fully than the Langmuir. A maximum Pb(II) loading capacity of 333.3 mg/g on tassel was obtained. The adsorption process could be well described by both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with R2 values of 0.957 and 0.972, respectively. The kinetic parameters were obtained by fitting data from the effect of contact time on adsorption capacity into the pseudo-first, pseudo-second-order and intra-particle diffusion equations. The kinetics of Pb(II) on tassel surface was well defined using linearity coefficients (R2) by pseudo-second-order (0.999), followed by pseudo-first-order (0.795) and lastly intra-particle diffusion (0.6056), respectively. The developed method was then applied to environmental samples taken from borehole waters contaminated with mine wastewater. The removal of Pb (ND-100%), Se (100%), Sr (5.41-59.0%), U (100%) and V (46.1-100%) was attained using tassel. The uptake of the metals from environmental samples was dependent on pH, ionic strength and levels of other competing species.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)884-891
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Hazardous Materials
Volume164
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 May 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Borehole water
  • Heavy metal
  • Maize tassel
  • Simulated samples

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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