Paraquat dichloride adsorption from aqueous solution using Carbonized Bambara Groundnut (Vigna subterranean) Shells

Carbonized Bambara GroundNut Shell (CBGNS) was used as adsorbent for the adsorption of paraquat dichloride (PQ) from aqueous solution. The prepared adsorbent was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy methods. Several parameters that might affect the adsorption process including pH, contact time, adsorbent dosage, temperature and initial concentration were investigated and optimized using batch adsorption technique. Results of the study revealed that maximum removal efficiency (98%) was achieved using 0.05g adsorbent dosage, solution pH of 5 and 60 min of contact time. The equilibrium experimental result revealed that Langmuir model best described the adsorption process with R2 value of 0.956.The heat of adsorption process was estimated from Temkin Isotherm model to be 19.99J/mol and the mean free energy was estimated from Duninin-Radushkevich (DRK) isotherm model to be 0.289KJ/mol indicating chemisorptions process. The kinetic and thermodynamic studies revealed that the adsorption processes followed pseudo-second-order kinetics with R2 value of 0.999 and the value of ∆G (- 27.74 kJ mol-1), ∆H (13.145 kJ mol-1) indicate the spontaneous and endothermic nature of PQ adsorption on CBGNS. The results suggested that CBGNS had the potential to become a promising material for PQ contaminated water treatment. Keywords: Adsorption, Paraquat dichloride, Carbonized Bambara Ground nut shell, Water treatment