Biosorptive uptake of Fe2+,Cu2+ and As5+ by activated biochar derived from Colocasia esculenta: Isotherm,kinetics,thermodynamics,and cost estimation

The adsorptive capability of superheated steam activated biochar (ssab) produced from colocasia esculenta was investigated for removal of cu2+,fe2+ and as5+ from simulated coal mine wastewater. ssab was characterized by scanning electron microscopy,fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and brunauer-emmett-teller analyser. adsorption isotherm indicated monolayer adsorption which fitted best in langmuir isotherm model. thermodynamic study suggested the removal process to be exothermic,feasible and spontaneous in nature. adsorption of fe2+,cu2+ and as5+ on to ssab was found to be governed by pseudo-second order kinetic model. efficacy of ssab in terms of metal desorption,regeneration and reusability for multiple cycles was studied. regeneration of metal desorbed ssab with 1 n sodium hydroxide maintained its effectiveness towards multiple metal adsorption cycles. cost estimation of ssab production substantiated its cost effectiveness as compared to commercially available activated carbon. hence,ssab could be a promising adsorbent for metal ions removal from aqueous solution. © 2016.