| Abstract: | Major efforts have been made relating to the development of novel biosorbents applied to remove wastewater pollutants such as heavy metal ions and dyes. This work is focused on preparing a biosorbent from oil palm bagasse and alumina nanoparticles and using it for cadmium and nickel uptake. FT-IR, SEM and EDX analyses were carried out to test the diversification of functional groups, morphology and elemental composition. Batch adsorption experiments were performed varying pH (2, 4 and 6) and particle size (0.355, 0.5 and 1 mm) in order to determine suitable parameter values for further experiments using chemically modified biomass. The presence of absorption bands attributed to bonds with aluminum indicated a successful synthesis of this biosorbent. The carbon and oxygen elements most contribute to biosorbent composition due to the nature of this lignocellulosic biomass. The highest removal yields (87% for cadmium and 81% for nickel) were achieved at pH = 6 and particle size = 0.355 mm. In addition, the modification with alumina nanoparticles using dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as organic solvent reflected no significant enhancement of adsorption process. |
