VALORIZATION OF WASTE MAIZE COBS AS A LOW-COST ADSORBENT FOR ARSENIC (III) REMOVAL FROM WATER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3126/jist.v31i1.86813Keywords:
Adsorption , Adsorption capacity, Arsenite, Maize cobs, Zr(IV)-loadingAbstract
The toxicity of arsenic has drawn a lot of attention to its presence in groundwater resources. In this study, As(III) was removed from aqueous solution using Zr(IV)-loaded modified maize cob (Zr(IV)-MMC). FTIR and XRD analysis confirmed effective modification of maize cob, whereas SEM images revealed surface roughening after Zr loading and EDX confirmed that As(III) was adsorbed onto Zr(IV)-MMC. Zr(IV)-MMC showed a good adsorption capacity (qmax = 43.26 mg/g, pH = 9.0), and with 2M NaOH, the desorption rate could reach 95.24%, making it a promising regenerable adsorbent. The Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second order (PSO) kinetics models provided a good fit to the experimental data. The adsorption of As(III) onto Zr(IV)-MMC was most interfered with by phosphate out of the co-existing ions: sulphate, phosphate, chloride, and nitrate. For the desorption of adsorbed As(III) for regeneration, a 2M NaOH solution proved to be an efficient eluent. This study shows that the low-cost Zr(IV)-MMC adsorbent is an economical, eco-friendly, and effective adsorbent that not only safely eliminates As(III) from water but also enables recycling and reuse of the biowaste.
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