BIOSORPTION OF Hg (II) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS USING BUTEA MONOSPERMA

The objective of this study is to investigate the feasibility of using Butea monosperma leaves powder (BMLP) for the removal of mercury from aqueous solution at the normal pH of the solution and at room temperature (30oC). Results show that BMLP has a good biosorption capacity for mercury. The biosorption isotherms were analyzed using Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin models. The Freundlich model yielded the best fit for the experimental biosorption equilibrium data. The maximum monolayer biosorption capacity as determined from the Langmuir model is 62.235 mg/g of biosorbent for initial concentration of 150 ppm mercury in the solution. The biosorption energy, ΔQ indicates that the biosorption reaction was endothermic. The kinetic data fitted the Ho’s pseudo-second-order model with correlation coefficient 0.9985 and 0.9620 for initial concentration of 100 ppm and 150 ppm mercury in the solution. The studies suggest that the sorbent can be used for the removal of mercury from aqueous solutions