Study on the use of Roasted Barley Powder for Adsorption of Cu2+ Ions in
Batch Experiments and in Fixed-bed Columns
BIORESOURCES, 8 (3):
3556-3573 (2013)Abstract
The potential to remove Cu2+ ions from aqueous solutions through
biosorption using roasted barley powder and alkalized barley was
investigated in batch experiments and in fixed-bed columns. The
influences of initial concentrations (40 to 600 mg/L) of the metal ion,
the amount of adsorbent (0.01 to 0.25 g), the contact time (2 to 240
min), and the pH (1.0 to 5.5) were all studied. An isotherm model was
applied to describe the equilibrium. The percentage of adsorption
increased with increasing pH-values up to 5.5 and with dosage of
adsorbent up to 0.1 g. The equilibrium adsorption capacities of Cu2+
after 3hours were 43.8 and 51.3 mg.g(-1) for barley and alkalized
barley, respectively. These values are higher when compared with the
adsorption capacity of various adsorbents reported in literature. The
adsorption data fit well to the Langmuir isotherm model, and the
experimental results indicate that chemisorption onto the surface of the
barley and alkalized barley is the major adsorption mechanism for
binding Cu2+ ions for both sorbents.