BackgroundThe adsorption process by metal oxide nanoparticles has been investigated an effective agent for removing organic and inorganic contaminants from water and wastewater. In this study, iron oxide nanoparticles were synthesized in the presence of tangerine peel extract as adsorbent for cadmium ions removal from contaminated solution. Iron oxide nanoparticles prepared by co-precipitation method and tangerine peel extract was used to prevent accumulation and reduce the diameter of the particles. Effect of various parameters such as contact time, pH, metal concentration and adsorbent dosage was determined on the removal efficiency.ResultsThe different concentrations of tangerine peel had an impact on the size of nanoparticles. As, increasing the concentration of tangerine peel extract from 2 to 6 % the average size of synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles decreased 200 nm to 50 nm. The maximum removal of cadmium ions (90 %) occurred at pH of 4 and adsorbent dose of 0.4 g/100 ml. Adsorption of cadmium ions by synthesized iron oxide nanoparticles followed Freundlich adsorption model and pseudo-second-order equation.ConclusionThe cadmium ions are usually soluble in acidic pH and the maximum removal of cadmium by green synthesis iron oxide nanoparticles was obtained in the pH of 4, so these nanoparticles can be a good adsorbent for the removal of cadmium from wastewater.

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Tea grows in the contaminated soils, absorbs the heavy metals, and enters them into the human food chain. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu, As, and Hg of the imported black tea leaves to Hormozgan Province were evaluated by atomic absorption spectrometer. Then, the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) levels of heavy metal intakes were calculated to estimate the health hazard for consumers. The Pb, Cd, Cu, As, and Hg concentrations in the Sri Lankan and Indian blank tea were 0.14, 0.017, 11.29, 0.057, 0.0076 mg/kg, and 0.21, 0.02, 14.56, 0.067, 0.01 mg/kg, respectively. It was found that except for As concentration in Indian black tea were higher than Sri Lankan black tea. The HQ and HI levels of all studied metals were less than one, but they were higher in Indian black tea compared with the Sri Lankan black tea. The HI of Indian and Sri Lankan black tea samples were 0.061 and 0.048, respectively, which indicated no significant health hazard for tea consumers. The results showed that the consumption of the studied tea could not have any risk of heavy metal exposure.