Removal of lead and cadmium from aqueous solution using banana peel powder / Raja Nurain Izzah Raja Zubairei

Water contamination due to excessive discharge of heavy metals that comes from rapid industrialization and agriculture-based waste management problems has become a global issue that can affect human health and the environment. Banana peels which is one of the agriculture-based waste can be seen as a potential alternative material for the biosorption of heavy metals in contaminated water due to its cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, and lignin, as well as functional groups such as carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine that helps in biosorption process. In this present study, the ability of banana peel powder to remove heavy metals lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) from a solution was determined, as well as the effect of biosorbent dosage (0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1.00 g of banana peel powder) on heavy metal removal. In this work, heavy metal ions (Pb2+ and Cd2+) was removed using banana peel powder via an adsorption procedure, and the biosorption capacity (mg/g) was analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) whereas Langmuir and Freundlich's adsorption isotherm model were utilized for data analysis. Langmuir monolayer coverage reveals that 1 g of banana peel powder can adsorb 0.023 mg of Pb2+ and 0.025 mg of Cd2+ and the biosorption process using banana peels powder is favourable for the removal Pb2+ and Cd2+. Maximum removal of metal ions for lead and cadmium (100 ppm) was found at 98.1% and 90.1% for the dose of 0.75 g banana peel powder. The current study suggests that large volume of banana peel waste can be applied to treat the Pb and Cd contaminated water after observing its excellent adsorption performance. In addition, the waste management issue can be resolved in an environmentally responsible manner by utilizing it for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater.