Using food waste biomass as effective adsorbents in water and wastewater treatment for Cu(II) removal

The present study investigated Cu(II) ion adsorption onto banana peel, chestnut shell, and tea leaf waste in aqueous medium under different experimental conditions. Batch adsorption studies were carried out with various Cu(II) concentrations as well as the influence of process parameters such as pH, contact time, and adsorbent amount on the removal of copper, and the optimum conditions for maximum removal of copper from an aqueous solution. These food waste biomass adsorbents were applied to mineral water and industrial wastewater samples and the copper removal potentials were compared. The nature of the adsorbents and metal ion interactions was examined by the fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) technique. The adsorption data were obtained by using the Langmuir model showing maximum adsorption capacity of banana peel, chestnut shell, and tea leaf waste at 1.94 mg g-1 2.25 mg g-1, and 3.36 mg g-1, respectively. Copper was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry.