Biosorption of copper(ii) ions by methyl-sulfonated Lagenaria vulgaris shell: kinetic, thermodynamic and desorption studies

Abstract

The biosorption of Cu(II) ions on chemically modified Lagenaria vulgaris shell was investigated as a function of temperature at different initial metal ion concentrations. Also, the effects of particle size and agitation rate on the adsorption yield were studied. Efficiency of biosorbent based on chemically modified Lagenaria vulgaris shell for Cu(II) ion removal from aqueous solution was studied in batch conditions. The thermodynamic parameters of copper biosorption indicated that the process was spontaneous and exothermic. Kinetic models applied to the sorption data at various particle sizes showed that the Cu(II) ion uptake process followed the pseudo-second order rate model and the adsorption rate constants decreased with increasing dimension of particles. Desorption studies revealed that the studied biosorbent can be regenerated using 0.1 M HNO₃ and reused. The results indicate that the chemically modified Lagenaria vulgaris shell can be used as a promising alternative for the adsorption of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution.