Comparative investigation on the removal of cyanide from aqueous solution using two different bioadsorbents

Abstract

In the present study, comparative investigation for the bioremoval of cyanide from synthetic aqueous solution by Prunus amygdalus (Almond) shell (PAS) and Tectona grandis (Sagwan) leaves (TGL) powder have been performed as a function of solution pH, bioadsorbent dose, contact time and initial cyanide concentration. The cyanide uptake by PAS and TGL powder has been quantitatively estimated using sorption isotherms. The equilibrium data are best fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm model for PAS and TGL powder respectively. The monolayer capacity of PAS and TGL powder for cyanide adsorption as calculated by Langmuir isotherm are 32.05 mg/g and 18.45 mg/g respectively. The kinetic data are found to follow closely the pseudo-second order kinetic model for both the bioadsorbents. The present study shows that such low cost materials could be used as efficient bioadsorbents for the removal of cyanide from aqueous solutions. © 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.