A novel co-processed olive tree leaves biomass for lead adsorption from contaminated water

Olive farming is one of the key agricultural activities in Jordan, where nearly 70% of the cultivated land in Jordan is covered with olive trees. Olive harvesting generates massive quantities of agricultural waste which will be an environmental burden if not managed properly. The present study introduces the use of novel co-processed biomass extracted from the olive tree leaves for the adsorption of lead from contaminated water. Several biomass co-processing techniques using different concentrations of sodium hydroxide, phosphoric acid, and the Dead Sea water were investigated and their effect on the removal efficiency was demonstrated. Moreover, the effect of several parameters on the adsorption efficiency including biomass particle size, solution pH, contact time, adsorbent amount, and lead ion concentration was explored. It was inferred that biomass co-processing enhanced the adsorption capacity of lead. It was also found that the adsorption efficiency increased with decreasing biomass particle size due to the increase in surface area. The highest lead removal was attained at an efficiency value of 70% for the 0.1 mm particle size and at a maximum adsorption capacity recorded at pH 5. The foregoing had a negatively charged biomass surface which, as such, favored the cationic adsorption (pH_PZC values around 2.8-4.5). For lead biosorption, the process was a rapid process whereby most adsorption was observed within the first 20 min. Concurrently, there were no considerable changes in lead removal thereafter. Theoretically, this was attributed to the decrease in the available adsorption sites on the biomass surface. On the other hand, a continuous increase in the removal efficiency was recorded upon increasing the adsorbent amount. However, there was a continuous decline in the removal efficiency upon an increase in the initial lead concentration. The experimental data were fitted well with Langmuir isotherm (indicating a monolayer adsorption isotherm), while kinetic data showed the best fit with a pseudo-second-order kinetic model.