Production of activated carbon from biodiesel solid residues: An alternative for hazardous metal sorption from aqueous solution.

In this study, the potential for the sorption of Pb(2+) and Cd(2+) from aqueous solutions using HNO3-treated activated carbon (TAC) obtained from radish press cake (Raphanus sativus L.), a solid residue from biodiesel production, was investigated. Activated carbon (AC) was obtained by physical activation with CO2(g). Chemical modification with HNO3 was employed to increase the sorption capability of the AC. The sorption of Pb(2+) and Cd(2+) was studied in monometallic systems in equilibrium with different metal-ion concentrations (10-400 mg L(-1)). The experimental sorption equilibrium data were fit to the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The maximum sorption capacity (qmax) obtained for AC from the Langmuir isotherm was 45.5 mg g(-1) for Cd(2+) and 250 mg g(-1) for Pb(2+). Moreover, TAC presented qmax of 166.7 mg g(-1) (1.48 mmol g(-1)) for Cd(2+) and 500.0 mg g(-1) (2.41 mmol g(-1)) for Pb(2+)showing the effect of chemical modification. Sorption-desorption studies showed that the interaction between metals and TAC is reversible and this sorbent can be reused for several consecutive cycles. Furthermore, the sorption of Cd(2+) and Pb(2+) by TAC was not affected by the presence of competing ions. The experimental data obtained in this study indicated that this solid residue is viable for the production of sorbents that remove metals, such as cadmium and lead, from wastewaters and thereby contribute to the sustainable development of the production of biodiesel.

Efficient removal of Cd2+ from aqueous solutions using by-product of biodiesel production.

In this study, chemically modified radish cake, a by-product of biodiesel production, was used to remove Cd(2+) from aqueous solutions. The chemical modification was carried out by treating the radish cake with citric acid (CRC), NaOH (NRC) or the combination of citric acid and NaOH (CNRC). The sorbents were characterized by elemental analysis, surface area analysis, infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), potentiometric titration (PT), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The effect of the chemical treatment and contact time on cadmium sorption was evaluated. The equilibrium data were analyzed using Freundlich and Langmuir models. The maximum sorption capacity obtained by the Langmuir isotherm was 58.5mg/g and 64.10mg/g for the CRC, and CNRC sorbents, respectively. Complete desorption of Cd(2+) was achieved using 0.1 mol/L HNO(3). The results obtained demonstrate that chemically modified radish cake has potential as a sorbent for Cd(2+) removal from aqueous solutions.

Evaluation of the potential of microalgae Microcystis novacekii in the removal of Pb2+ from an aqueous medium.

In this study, the absorption capacity of active and inactive biomass of the microalgae Microcystis novacekii to remove Pb(2+) from aqueous solutions was investigated. This is the first reported study of biosorption by a cyanobacterium species, which is abundant and easily found in eutrophic lakes and ponds in tropical areas of the world. We also evaluated the effects of different concentrations of Pb(2+) on growth rates of M. novacekii. Inactive biomass was characterized by elemental composition, surface area, potentiometric titration, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The biosorption data of Pb(2+) by inactive biomass were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Pb(2+) concentrations higher than 0.5 mg L(-1) inhibited species growth. Potentiometric titrations showed a significantly higher negative surface charge (1.48+/-0.22 mmol g(-1)) with two acidic groups (pKa(1)=3.74+/-0.12 and, pKa(2)=7.25+/-0.30). Analysis of inactive M. novacekii cells by infrared spectroscopy suggests that the cell wall carboxyl and amide groups participate in Pb(2+) biosorption. The maximum Pb(2+) adsorbed was found to be 70 mg g(-1), and the biosorption of Pb(2+) on inactive M. novacekii correlated well (R(2)=0.931) with the Langmuir equation compared to the Freundlich isotherm equation (R(2)=0.823) in the concentration range studied.