Abstract

The efficiency of Thaumatococcus daniellii leaves as an alternative low-cost sorbent for removal of cadmium and lead, preliminary test was carried out at pH 6, with 0.5g of biomass reacted with 10ppm of cadmium and lead then stirred for one hour, filtered and metal concentration was studied using AAS to obtain optimum condition for the sorption studies. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to evaluate effect of pH, Dosage, Time and Initial metal concentration on adsorption capacity. The adsorption data were used to plots graphs showed in figures 2 - 5. Characterization studies were carried out using SEM-EDS, and FTIR respectively. The surface morphology and elemental composition of the biomass showed loose aggregates with cracks and uniformly distributed pores with carbon and Oxygen present in the sample, the presence of hydroxyl, amide and carboxylic groups as the main functional groups that may be involve in complexation of metal ions for sorption processes