Removal of nickel from synthetic waste water using gooseberry seeds as biosorbent

Abstract

The sorption of Ni (II) metal using Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus acidus) seeds was studied. The main objective behind carrying out this study was to test the metal removal efficiency of gooseberry seeds for a heavy metal such as Ni(II). The main parameters (kinetic data) included in this study were effect of pH, of contact time, initial metal concentration and dosage concentration studies. The optimum equilibrium found was at 90 min. The equilibrium data was well agreed with Langmuir, Freundlich and Harkins–Jura isotherm models. The adsorption system was found to follow the pseudo-second kinetics. The presence of functional groups and its corresponding effect on Ni (II) metal was observed using FTIR spectroscopy. SEM analysis was carried out to compare the intraparticle pore size of the sorbent material before and after adsorption. The study indicated that gooseberry seed powder activated using sulphuric acid (H2SO4) proved to be a promising biosorbent for the removal of Ni(II).