Kinetics and equilibrium studies of adsorption of chromium(VI) ion from industrial wastewater using Chrysophyllum albidum (Sapotaceae) seed shells.

A new biosorbent has been prepared by coating Chrysophyllum albidum (Sapotaceae) seed shells with chitosan and/or oxidizing agents such as sulfuric acid. This study investigated the technical feasibility of activated and modified activated C. albidum seed shells carbons for the adsorption of chromium(VI) from aqueous solution. The sorption process with respect to its equilibria and kinetics as well as the effects of pH, contact time, adsorbent mass, adsorbate concentration and particle size on adsorption was also studied. The most effective pH range was found to be between 4.5 and 5 for the sorption of the metal ion. The pseudo-first-order rate equation by Lagergren and pseudo-second-order rate equation were tested on the kinetic data, the adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order rate kinetics, also, isotherm data was analyzed for possible agreement with the Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms, the Freundlich and Langmuir models for dynamics of metal ion uptake proposed in this work fitted the experimental data reasonably well. However, equilibrium sorption data were better represented by Langmuir model than Freundlich. The adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir isotherm was 84.31, 76.23 and 59.63mgCr(VI)/g at initial pH of 3.0 at 30 degrees C for the particle size of 1.00-1.25mm with the use of 12.5, 16.5 and 2.1g/L of CACASC, CCASC and ACASC adsorbent mass, respectively. This readily available adsorbent is efficient in the uptake of Cr(VI) ion in aqueous solution, thus, it could be an excellent alternative for the removal of heavy metals and organic matter from water and wastewater.