The Removal Performance of Bio-Sorption on Sunflower Seed Husk for Copper and Lead Ions from Aqueous Solutions

This study was concerned with the feasibility of using sunflower seed husk (waste material from the food industry) as a low-cost and available sorbent material to remove copper and lead ions. Sunflower seed husk was used for the biosorption of heavy metal ions (Pb(II) and Cu(II)) from aqueous solutions. The properties of natural adsorbent were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Pb(II) and Cu(II) adsorption were investigated in batch experiments through several influencing operating parameters, including contact time, sorbent dosage, initial pH, and initial concentration. The Pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models were also applied to the experimental data to determine the adsorption kinetics. The results showed that adsorption of both ions fitted well by pseudo-Second-order, with determination coefficient R2 = 0.99, for both ions with SSE (1.628, 1.345) for Pb(II) and Cu(II), respectively.