Utilizing sustainable hemp biomass as an eco-friendly for potentially toxic elements removal from water

Potentially toxic elements in water is one of the important environmental problems. In this study, it was aimed to produce an environmentally friendly and cost-effective biosorbent using sustainable hemp biomass. The chemical composition of hemp biosorbents was characterized by FTIR, SEM, and XRD, and the results showed that the biosorbent could be a good alternative. A batch system was used to investigate the effects of initial concentration, pH, contact time, and temperature on the removal performance of Cu (II) and Zn (II) ions. The statistical analysis was performed, and the amount of adsorbed substance, kinetic values, and experiment results were evaluated for suitability. Kinetic data determined the best fit to pseudo-second-order kinetics for Cu (II) and Zn (II) ions. Adsorption determined the Langmuir model for Cu (II) ions and the Freundlich model for Zn (II) ions. The maximum adsorption capacity in the batch system was determined as 25.59 mg/g for Cu (II) and 12.97 mg/g for Zn (II) ions. The obtained thermodynamic data confirmed the endothermic nature of the adsorption. In desorption studies, after three cycles, the adsorption efficiency decreased from 83.3% to 52.8% for Cu (II) and from 82.1% to 49.7% for Zn (II). Study results showed that hemp biosorbent may be an alternative adsorbent that can be used to remove PTEs from wastewater.