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Abstract
The adsorption of Cd2+ and Pb2+ on sugar beet pulp (SBP), a low-cost material, has
been studied. In the present work, the abilities of native (SBP) to remove cadmium
(Cd2+) and lead (Pb2+) ions from aqueous solutions were compared. The (SBP) an industrial
by product and solid waste of sugar industry were used for the removal of Cd2+ and
Pb2+ ions from aqueous water. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to examine
the influence of various parameters such as initial pH, adsorbent dose, initial metal
ion concentration, and time on uptake. The sorption process was relatively fast and
equilibrium was reached after about 70 min of contact. As much as 70-75% removal of
Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions for (SBP) are possible in about 70 min, respectively, under the
batch test conditions. Uptake of Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions on (SBP) showed a pH-dependent
profile. The overall uptake for the (SBP) is at a maximum at pH 5.3 and gives up to
46.1 mg g(-1) for Cd2+ and at pH 5.0 and gives 43.5 mg g(-1) for Pb2+ for (SBP), which
seems to be removed exclusively by ion exchange, physical sorption and chelation.
A dose of 8 gL(-1) was sufficient for the optimum removal of both the metal ions.
The Freundlich represented the sorption data for (SBP). In the presence of 0.1M NaNO3
the level of metal ion uptake was found to reach its maximum value very rapidly with
the speed increasing both with the (SPB) concentration and with increasing initial
pH of the suspension. The reversibility of the process was investigated. The desorption
of Cd2+ and Pb2+ ions which were previously deposited on the (SBP) back into the deionised
water was observed only in acidic pH values during one day study period and was generally
rather low. The extent of adsorption for both metals increased along with an increase
of the (SBP) dosage. (SBP), which is cheap and highly selective, therefore seems to
be a promising substrate to entrap heavy metals in aqueous solutions.