Adsorption of copper (II) from aqueous solution by lime peels powder as biosorbent

The discharging of heavy metals which are toxic and poisonous, particularly Cu (II) ions from industrial wastewater into environment can cause soil and water pollution. Currently, lime peels has been used as a biosorbent due to it is abundantly in nature and industrial waste product. In this study, removing heavy metal of Cu (II) from aqueous solution has been studied. The lime peels were dried under the sun for 48 h and in an oven at 60°C for 48 h. After that, the lime peels were ground into powder form and were pre-treated using sulphuric acid to become acid treated lime peels powder. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) analysis and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis were performed on these samples to determine the functional group of organic compound and, the morphology of microstructure and characterizations of chemical compositions, respectively. The batch adsorption experiments were carried out for the removal of heavy metal Cu (II) from aqueous solution. The effect of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and pH were determined. The collected data from the experimental design were undergo optimization process using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to obtain the best parameters involved. The optimum condition for the effect of absorption were conducted at different adsorbent dosage (0.005 g, 0.0125 g and 0.02 g), initial concentration (10 mg/L, 35 mg/L and 60 mg/L) and pH (2, 5 and 8), respectively. The result showed that the highest percentage of Cu (II) removal is 96.667% and the highest adsorption capacity is 806.667 mg/g by lime peels powder as adsorbent.