Chemical modification of lignocellulosic material for heavy metal removal

There are various waste water treatment options available worldwide. However, researchers around the globe are continuously studying on it in order to add options that could be cost friendly. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to extract out cellulose from industrial waste sawdust and compare the efficiency in metal ion removal by using cellulose and sawdust as adsorbent. TAPPI Extraction method was used to extract out cellulose from the sawdust. The adsorbents were analysed by using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy to determine the elements and bonds in it. Both adsorbents were mixed with self-prepared copper solution at different pH which was 5, 8,9,10 and 11 for two, four and six hours. The water was filtered after the contact and analysed by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy to determine the amount of copper ion left in the solution. Based on the results, the cellulose act as a more effective adsorbent compared to sawdust. However, both adsorbents were having six hour contact time and pH five as optimum contact time and pH.