Biosorption of Lead Heavy Metal on Prickly Pear Cactus Biomaterial: Kinetic, Thermodynamic and Regeneration Studies

Abstract

The potential of Tunisian prickly pear cactus as a low-cost adsorbent for Pb(II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated in batch mode. To determine the optimum adsorption conditions, experiments were conducted varying the operating parameters, as follows: pH of the solutions (2-10), initial concentration of metal ions (0.98-2.4 mmol/L) and temperature (30-60 °C). The adsorption isotherm data were analyzed by applying the Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin–Raduskevich, Temkin and Redlich–Peterson models. The experimental results were better fitted by the Freundlish model. The pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models were applied to the description of the kinetic data. The best fit was achieved for the pseudo-second order model, and the presence of both film and intraparticle diffusion mechanisms was demonstrated. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the biosorption on the cladode powder is an exothermic and chemical process. The desorption/regeneration process was also investigated. The obtained results revealed over 90% desorption of Pb(II) metal ions from the total metal-loaded mass of the adsorbent and good stability of the cactus adsorbent for four successive adsorption/desorption cycles.

A Promising, Highly Effective Nitrate Sorbent Derived from Solid Olive Mill Residues

“…These changes may be due, respectively, to the asymmetric stretching vibration of the -CH2 and symmetric stretching of the -CH3 group present in the aliphatic acids [47]. A band was recorded around 1650 cm −1 , which is characteristic of the stretching vibrations of carboxyl groups [45][46][47][48].…”

Untreated Opuntia ficus indica for the Efficient Adsorption of Ni(II), Pb(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) Ions from Water

“…Cladodes of OFI were collected from the experimental fields of the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Sciences of the University of Palermo. The raw cladodes were washed, peeled, and then dried at 105 • C for 48 h. The dried cladodes were ground with a laboratory blender and sieved into a particle size of 65-250 µm [35,[73][74][75]. The refining process purposely defined a size range in order to reduce the overall time and cost of the sample refining, still maintaining a good removal capability of the matrix, with a greener production procedure.…”

“…Specifically, several applications of OFI as an adsorbent material have been reported for removing dyes and metals from water and wastewater [6,34]. However, these studies are generally based on modified materials, e.g., mucilage extracted from OFI cladodes, OFI fibers, and activated carbon or biochar from OFI biomass [35][36][37][38]. Furthermore, to our knowledge, no study has evaluated the removal capacity of untreated OFI cladodes in contact with mixtures of Ni, Cu, Pb, and Cd to assess the possible competition between individual metals.…”

Phosphorus recovery from agricultural waste via cactus pear biomass

“…These approaches aim to maximize the utility of waste materials while ensuring sustainable P management [ 5 ]. Numerous studies have explored the capacity of various biomass adsorbents, including corn bracts [ 6 , 7 ], sugar cane bagasse [ 8 ] and wheat straw [ 9 ], dried cactus pear pruning [ 10 , 11 ]. Currently, cactus pear thrives in semi-arid regions across the globe and finds significant cultivation in the Mediterranean basin and Central America.…”