Removal of Chromium (VI) from the Steel Mill Effluents Using the Chemically Modified Leaves of <i>Pteris vittata</i> as Adsorbent

Chromium (Cr), a metal that is released in appreciable amounts from the steel industry into water bodies, is not only the main causative agent of lung cancer in human but also negatively affects the metabolic activities of plants. Keeping in view the hazardous effects of Cr(VI), the present study was aimed to eliminate it from industrial effluents of steel mills installed in Dargai District Malakand, Pakistan, using chemically modified Pteris vittata plant leaves as an adsorbent. The instrumental techniques such as FTIR, surface area analysis, SEM, TGA and EDX were used to evaluate surface functionality, morphology, thermal stability and elemental composition of the modified leaves. To identify the ideal conditions for the biosorption process, batch adsorption tests were carried out under varied conditions of pH, contact time, initial metal concentration, biosorbent dose, as well as temperature. Various models, such as those of Freundlich, Jovanovich, Temkin, Langmuir, and Harkins–Jura, were utilized to explain the isothermal experimental data. The high value of R2 (0.991) was exhibited by the Langmuir model. Pseudo-first-order, power function, pseudo-second-order, intraparticle diffusion, and Natarajan–Khalaf models were employed to obtain an insight into kinetics of the process. The highest R2 value, close to unity was recorded with pseudo-second order. At pH = 2, the best elimination of Cr was observed with maximum uptake capacity qmax(66.6 mg/g) as calculated from the Langmuir isotherm. The thermodynamic analysis, which was conducted at different temperatures, showed that the nature of this sorption process was exothermic and spontaneous. The modified leaves-based biosorbent could be used as an alternative adsorbent for effective Cr elimination from water, and its use could be extended to other heavy metals and organic pollutants as well, and further experimentation are needed in this regard