Efficient and easily scaled-up biosorbent based on natural and chemically modified macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) to remove Al3+, Mn2+ and Fe3+ from surface water contaminated with iron mining tailings

Yessica Y Giraldo-Bareño; Ana D Pinzón-García; Denise V M Sousa; Lucius F O Bomfim Filho; Diego H A Lopes; Natalia S Cortés; Miriam C S A Morávia; Ruben D Sinisterra; Ricardo M Orlando

doi:10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124273

Efficient and easily scaled-up biosorbent based on natural and chemically modified macauba (Acrocomia aculeata) to remove Al³⁺, Mn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ from surface water contaminated with iron mining tailings

Talanta. 2023 May 1:256:124273. doi: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124273. Epub 2023 Jan 16.

Authors

Yessica Y Giraldo-Bareño¹, Ana D Pinzón-García¹, Denise V M Sousa¹, Lucius F O Bomfim Filho¹, Diego H A Lopes¹, Natalia S Cortés², Miriam C S A Morávia², Ruben D Sinisterra¹, Ricardo M Orlando³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
² Environmental and Sanitary Engineering Department, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
³ Department of Chemistry, Institute of Exact Sciences, Federal University of Minas Gerais, UFMG, 31270-901, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. Electronic address: orlandoricardo@ufmg.br.

PMID: 36706501
DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124273

Abstract

The ruptures of tailings mine dams in the cities of Mariana and Brumadinho contaminated local Brazilian Rivers with toxic metals. Herein, we describe a scaled-up biosorbent based on natural macauba endocarp (NTE) and macauba endocarp chemically treated (TE) to remove Al³⁺, Mn²⁺ and Fe³⁺ from aqueous solutions. For the TE material: the variation of pH and temperature of water did not cause significant sorption interferences; the kinetics studies suggest a pseudo-second-order model; the adsorption isotherms revealed that the Langmuir equation was the best fit for Al³⁺ and Mn²⁺, while the Freundlich equation best described the Fe³⁺; and the maximum adsorption capacities were between 0.268 mg g^-1 and 1.379 mg g^-1. A scaled-up was carried out using an adsorption column to remove the metals from Rio Paraopeba River water samples and the results showed that both NTE and TE are potentially low cost biosorbents for removing Al³⁺, Mn²⁺ and Fe³⁺.

Keywords: Acrocomia aculeate; Macauba endocarp; Metal contaminants; Water contamination.