Now a day's biosorbents with magnetic properties have been applied for water and wastewater treatment process, because of its magnetic nature it can be easily separated and can be reused more than one time. In the present study, two magnetic biosorbents were synthesized from waste biomass of Citrus limetta (peel and pulp) at 500 °C temperature represented as PAC-500 and PPAC-500. These biosorbents were effectively used for the removal of As(III) and As(V) from an aqueous solution and groundwater samples. The prepared biosorbents were characterized by using Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET), Zeta potential, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Disperssive X-ray (EDS), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Particle Size Analyzer (PSA). Isotherms, kinetics and thermodynamics were also applied to the obtained experimental data. The regeneration study revealed that the biosorbent can be recycled up to four cycles. The adsorbent capacity of PAC-500 and PPAC-500 for the sorption of As(III) was 714.28 μg/g and 526.31 μg/g, respectively, whereas the qmax value for As(V) sorption was 2000 μg/g for both the biosorbents (PAC-500 and PPAC-500). The effect of competitive ions was also studied that shows that the presence of H2PO4- and CO32 have negative effects on the sorption of As(III) and As(V). Arsenic is very toxic and it is a more important subject for consideration, therefore it is necessary to develop a low cost material that is very efficient in removing As from ground water contaminated with As water.
Keywords: Biosorbents; Fruit waste; Regeneration study; Sorption; Zeta potential.
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