Efficacy of Adsorption of Cu (II), Pb (II) and Cd (II) Ions onto Acid Activated Watermelon Peels Biomass from Water

The efficacy of the watermelon peel biomass was tested for the removal of lead, copper and cadmium metal ions using batch experiments. Watermelon peel was first modified by exposing it to1N sulphuric acid. The effect of the treatment on morphological characteristics of the adsorbent was evaluated by mid infrared spectroscopy (MIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The levels of adsorption of Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ on unmodified watermelon peel (UMWP) and modified watermelon peel (MWP) was studied by varying parameters like pH, dosage, initial concentration of the metal ions and time. Equilibrium was described by Langmuir equation with the maximum adsorption capacities for Cu2+, Pb2+ and Cd2+ of 134.23 mg/g, 130.23 mg/g and 97.149 mg/g, respectively. Time-course measurements indicated involvement of pseudo-second-order kinetics in adsorptions. Desorption efficiencies of 94.98 % Pb2+ions, 99.79 % in Cu2+ and 99.23 % Cd2+ in chemically modified watermelon peels were recorded.