Adsorption Study of Cu2+ Ions from Aqueous Solutions by Bael Flowers (Aegle marmelos)

In the present study, batch mode adsorption was carried out to investigate the adsorption capacity of dried bael flowers (Aegle marmelos) for the adsorptive removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions by varying agitation time, initial metal concentration, the dose of adsorbent, temperature, and initial pH of the Cu(II) ion solution. The percentage removal of 98.7% was observed at 50 ppm initial metal ion concentration, 0.5 g/100.00 cm(3) adsorbent dosage, within the contact time of 120 minutes at 30 degrees C in the pH range of 4 - 7. The sorption processes of Cu(II) ions was best described by pseudo-second-order kinetics. Langmuir isotherm had a good fit with the experimental data with 0.97 of correlation coefficient (R-2), and the maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 23.14 mg g(-1) at 30 degrees C. The results obtained from sorption thermodynamic studies suggested that the adsorption process is exothermic and spontaneous. SEM analysis showed tubular voids on the adsorbent. FTIR studies indicated the presence of functional groups like hydroxyl, -C-O, -C=O, and amide groups in the adsorbent, which can probably involve in metal ion adsorption. Therefore, dried bael flowers can be considered an effective low-cost adsorbent for treating Cu(II) ions.