Optimization of copper removal by acid-treated date palm seed using response surface methodology (RSM)

With increasing industrialization, the problem of water pollution is also getting worse day by day. Several techniques are adopted to remove different polluting elements from water to get clean potable water. Among these techniques, biosorption is relatively a new technique in which mostly agricultural wastes are used as an agent to remove different kinds of polluting elements present in water. In this research paper, we are going to use acid-treated date palm seeds as a biosorbent to remove copper from aqueous solutions. We shall also use the technique of response surface methodology to determine simultaneous effect of four parameters: pH of the solution, initial metal concentration of the solution, biosorbent dose added to solution, and time of contact between solution and biosorbent. A R-2 value of 0.9691 was obtained, and optimum conditions for copper removal were found to be pH 6.08, initial metal concentration of 99.92 ppm, biosorbent dose of 0.12 g, and shaking time of 10.05 min to get an uptake of 61.8 mg/g. The results showed that acid-treated date palm seeds can be efficiently used for removing copper from water.