• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.17 no.3
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• pp.125-132
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• 2012

The removal of Cd(II) and Cu(II) from aqueous solution by an agricultural solid waste biomass prepared from Moringa oleifera bark (MOB) was investigated. The biosorbent was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Furthermore, the effect of initial pH, contact time, biosorbent dosage, initial metal ion concentration and temperature on the biosorption of Cd(II) and Cu(II) were studied using the batch sorption technique. Kinetic studies indicated that the biosorption process of the metal ions followed the pseudo-second order model. The biosorption data was analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Temkin isotherm models. Based on the Langmuir isotherm, the maximum biosorption capacities for Cd(II) and Cu(II) onto MOB were 39.41 and 36.59 mg/g at 323 K, respectively. The thermodynamic parameters, Gibbs free energy (${\Delta}G^o$), enthalpy (${\Delta}H^o$), and entropy (${\Delta}S^o$) changes, were also calculated, and the values indicated that the biosorption process was endothermic, spontaneous and feasible in the temperature range of 303-323 K. It was concluded that MOB powder can be used as an effective, low cost, and environmentally friendly biosorbent for the removal of Cd(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solution.