Comparative assessment of adsorbents performances of plant biomasses grown on different sites: case study of invasive Acer negundo L.

Abstract

With the increasing global spread of invasive species, collecting their biomass could be a promising source for adsorbent development and water remediation. Therefore, the ability of adsorbent based on biomass of invasive plant Acer negundo L. originating from different habitat types was investigated for the lead removal from aqueous solution, in order to observe if different growing sites have effect on adsorbent performances. Three sites were selected for sampling: forest edges on Mt. Avala, riparian forests at Great War Island and banks of coal separation pond in Piskanja. Characterisation was performed via pH_pzc, zeta potential, CEC, SEM-EDS and FTIR analysis. Optimization of sorption parameters was done and the best performance was at pH 5.0, adsorbent dosage 2.0 g/dm³ at 298 K for 60 min. Fitting of isothermal experiment data showed best correlation with Sips model (q_max is 94.92 - 131.52 mg/g, according to growing site). Among three reaction kinetic models, pseudo-second-order kinetics model showed best results. Since sample taken from the most anthropogenic influenced area have almost 30% lower adsorption capacity than others, it can be concluded that growing site characteristics reflect on biomass performances, which is important factor for any further biomass usage.