VALORIZATION OF WASTE MAIZE COBS AS A LOW-COST ADSORBENT FOR ARSENIC (III) REMOVAL FROM WATER
Keywords:
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.
References
Amin, Md. N., Kaneco, S., Kitagawa, T., Begum, A., Katsumata, H., Suzuki, T., & Ohta, K. (2006). Removal of arsenic in aqueous solutions by adsorption onto waste rice husk. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 45(24), 8105–8110. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie060344j
American Public Health Association (APHA), American Water Works Association, & Water Environment Federation. (2017). Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater (23rd ed.). American Public Health Association.
Aryal, M., Ziagova, M., & Liakopoulou-Kyriakides, M. (2010). Study on arsenic biosorption using Fe(III)-treated biomass of Staphylococcus xylosus. Chemical Engineering Journal, 162(1), 178–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2010.05.026
Aryal, R. L., Thapa, A., Poudel, B. R., Pokhrel, M. R., Dahal, B., Paudyal, H., & Ghimire, K. N. (2022). Effective biosorption of arsenic from water using La(III) modified carboxyl functionalized watermelon rind. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 15(3), 103674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2021.103674
Baig, J. A., Kazi, T. G., Arain, M. B., Afridi, H. I., Kandhro, G. A., Sarfraz, R. A., Jamal, M. K., & Shah, A. Q. (2009). Evaluation of arsenic and other physico-chemical parameters of surface and ground water of Jamshoro, Pakistan. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 166(2), 662–669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2008.11.069
Blanchard, G., Maunaye, M., & Martin, G. (1984). Removal of heavy metals from waters by means of natural zeolites. Water research, 18(12), 1501–1507.
Biswas, B. K., Inoue, J. I., Inoue, K., Ghimire, K. N., Harada, H., Ohto, K., & Kawakita, H. (2008). Adsorptive removal of As(V) and As(III) from water by a Zr(IV)-loaded orange waste gel. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 154(1–3), 1066-1074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2007.11.030
Chand, T. H., Raj, P. M., Nath, G. K., & Bahadur, K. D. (2015). Removal of arsenic from aqueous solution using iron (III)-modified sugarcane bagasse. Research Journal of Chemical Sciences, 5(11) 51-58.
Elizalde-González, M. P., Mattusch, J., & Wennrich, R. (2008). Chemically modified maize cobs waste with enhanced adsorption properties upon methyl orange and arsenic. Bioresource Technology, 99(11), 5134–5139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2007.09.023
Freundlich, H. (1907). Über die adsorption in lösungen. Zeitschrift für physikalische Chemie, 57(1), 385-470.
Ghimire, K. (2003). Adsorptive separation of arsenate and arsenite anions from aqueous medium by using orange waste. Water Research, 37(20), 4945–4953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2003.08.029
Gyawali, D., Poudel, M., Gautam, B., Neupane, B. B., Paudyal, H., & Ghimire, K. N. (2024). Zirconium-modified Citrus limetta peel for effective removal of arsenic from ground water. Journal of Water Process Engineering, 68, 106283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2024.106283
Ho, Y. S., & McKay, G. (1998). Sorption of dye from aqueous solution by peat. Chemical Engineering Journal, 70(2), 115–124. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0923-0467(98)00076-1
Lagergren, S. (1898). Zur theorie der sogenannten adsorption geloster stoffe. Kungliga svenska vetenskapsakademiens. Handlingar 24, 1-39.
Langmuir, I. (1918). The adsorption of gases on plane surfaces of glass, mica and platinum. Journal of the American Chemical society, 40(9), 1361-1403.
Lin, G., Wang, S., Zhang, L., Hu, T., Peng, J., Cheng, S., & Fu, L. (2018). Synthesis and evaluation of thiosemicarbazide functionalized maizemize bract for selective and efficient adsorption of Au(III) from aqueous solutions. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 258, 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2018.03.030
Lou, S., Liu, B., Qin, Y., Zeng, Y., Zhang, W., & Zhang, L. (2021). Enhanced removal of As(III) and As(V) from water by a novel zirconium-chitosan modified spherical sodium alginate composite. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 176, 304–314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2021.02.077
Luo, T., Tian, X., Yang, C., Luo, W., Nie, Y., & Wang, Y. (2017). Polyethylenimine-functionalized maize mize bract, an agricultural waste material, for efficient removal and recovery of Cr(VI) from aqueous solution. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 65(33), 7153–7158. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b02699
Mallampati, R., & Valiyaveettil, S. (2013). Apple peels: A versatile biomass for water purification? ACS applied materials & interfaces, 5(10), 4443–4449. https://doi.org/10.1021/am400901e
Mandal, S., Sahu, M. K., & Patel, R. K. (2013). Adsorption studies of arsenic(III) removal from water by zirconium polyacrylamide hybrid material (ZrPACM-43). Water Resources and Industry, 4, 51–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wri.2013.09.003
Mohamed, M. S., Hozayen, W. G., Alharbi, R. M., & Ibraheem, I. B. M. (2022). Adsorptive recovery of arsenic(III) ions from aqueous solutions using dried Chlamydomonas sp. Heliyon, 8(12). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e12398
Montero, J. I. Z., Monteiro, A. S. C., Gontijo, E. S. J., Bueno, C. C., de Moraes, M. A., & Rosa, A. H. (2018). High efficiency removal of As(III) from waters using a new and friendly adsorbent based on sugarcane bagasse and maize cob husk Fe-coated biochars. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, 162, 616–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2018.07.042
Pant, B. D., Adhikari, S., Shrestha, N., Baral, J., Paudyal, H., Ghimire, K. N., ... & Poudel, B. R. (2024). Iron-loaded Punica granatum peel: An effective biosorbent for the excision of arsenite from water. Heliyon, 10(17), e37382. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37382
Paz, R., Viltres, H., Gupta, N. K., Rajput, K., Roy, D. R., Romero-Galarza, A., Biesinger, M. C., & Leyva, C. (2022). Zirconium-organic framework as a novel adsorbent for arsenate remediation from aqueous solutions. Journal of Molecular Liquids, 356, 118957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molliq.2022.118957
Poudel, B. R., Ale, D. S., Aryal, R. L., Ghimire, K. N., Gautam, S. K., Paudyal, H., & Pokhrel, M. R. (2022). Zirconium-modified pomegranate peel for efficient removal of arsenite from water. BIBECHANA, 19(1–2), Article 1–2. https://doi.org/10.3126/bibechana.v19i1-2.45943
Poudel, B. R., Aryal, R. L., Gautam, S. K., Ghimire, K. N., Paudyal, H., & Pokhrel, M. R. (2021). Effective remediation of arsenate from contaminated water by zirconium-modified pomegranate peel as an anion exchanger. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 9(6), 106552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2021.106552
Samsuri, A. W., Sadegh-Zadeh, F., & Seh-Bardan, B. J. (2013). Adsorption of As(III) and As(V) by Fe-coated biochars and biochars produced from empty fruit bunch and rice husk. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 1(4), 981–988. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2013.08.009
Setyono, D., & Valiyaveettil, S. (2014). Chemically modified sawdust as renewable adsorbent for arsenic removal from water. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, 2(12), 2722–2729. https://doi.org/10.1021/sc500458x
Sheng, T., Baig, S. A., Hu, Y., Xue, X., & Xu, X. (2014). Development, characterization and evaluation of iron-coated honeycomb briquette cinders for the removal of As(V) from aqueous solutions. Arabian Journal of Chemistry, 7(1), 27–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arabjc.2013.05.032
Singh, P., Borthakur, A., Singh, R., Bhadouria, R., Singh, V. K., & Devi, P. (2021). A critical review on the research trends and emerging technologies for arsenic decontamination from water. Groundwater for Sustainable Development, 14, 100607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsd.2021.100607
Thapa, S., & Pokhrel, M. R. (2013). Removal of As(III) from aqueous solution using Fe(III) modified pomegranate waste. Journal of Nepal Chemical Society, 30, 29–36. https://doi.org/10.3126/jncs.v30i0.9332
Xu, X., Guo, Q., Yang, C., Hu, Z., Chen, Q., & Hu, J. (2022). Highly effective removal of Hg(II) solution using maizemIZE bract@MoS2 as a new biomass adsorbent. RSC Advances, 12(49), 31792–31800. https://doi.org/10.1039/D2RA05638K
Yang, M. X., & Zhou, R. (2012). Research on degumming experiment of maizemize bracts. Advanced Materials Research, 550–553, 1242–1247.
https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.550-553.1242
Zong, E., Wei, D., Wan, H., Zheng, S., Xu, Z., & Zhu, D. (2013). Adsorptive removal of phosphate ions from aqueous solution using zirconia-functionalized graphite oxide. Chemical Engineering Journal, 221, 193–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2013.01.088
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Institute of Science and Technology, T.U.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The copyright of the articles is held by the Institute of Science and Technology, Tribhuvan University (IoST- TU). The views and interpretations in this journal are those of the author(s). They are not attributable to the IoST-TU and do not imply the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The corresponding author is responsible for any conflict of interest between authors and others.
The articles in the Journal of Institute of Science and Technology are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Share Alike 4.0 International License (CC: BY-NC), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, remix, transfer, and build upon the materials for any purpose, even commercially, provided the original work is properly cited.
