Lead Removal from Contaminated Water by Corn and Palm Nut Husks
Lovell Agwaramgbo *
Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana, 70122, USA.
Amarachi Iwuagwu
Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
J. Alinnor
Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
This study evaluates the efficacy of using two local, cheap, and abundant waste materials such as charred husks from corn and palm nut for the remediation of lead contaminated water. The study was conducted for the development of a very cheap, natural, easy to prepare, and effective technology for the rural natives to remove lead contaminant from water as there was a concern that the dust and soil lead contamination that killed over 500 people in Nigeria could contaminate the water resources. Charred husks from corn cob and palm nut were respectively exposed to 50 ml of 102 ppm of aqueous lead nitrate solution for 48 hours at room temperature without agitation. The mixture was filtered and the filtrate was analyzed for residual lead concentrations using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The results indicated that the two biosorbents were very effective in removing lead from contaminated aqueous solution with 92-99% removal efficiency. The study concluded that charred palm nut and corn cob husks can be used as cheap and safe bioremediators of lead contaminated water.
Keywords: Cornhusk, palmnuthusk, bio-remediation, adsorption, lead, biosorption