Enhanced Zn(II) adsorption by chemically modified sawdust based biosorbents.

Heavy metals present in industrial effluents, when discharged into water channels, not only affect humans but also negatively impact plants and aquatic organisms. Sawdust is available readily in developing countries and can be used by small-scale industries for effluent water treatment containing low concentrations of bivalent zinc ions. This study explores the potential of sawdust-derived biosorbents, after boiling (SDB), chemical modification with formaldehyde (SDF), and sulfuric acid (SDS), for sequestration of Zn(II) from simulated wastewater as well as industrial effluents. The morphological analysis of the three biosorbents indicated a suitable porous structure with a pore size of 232.928 m2/g (SDB), 291.102 m2/g (SDF), and 498.873 m2/g (SDS). The functional analysis of native and metal-laden biosorbents indicated the role of - OH, - C = O, and - NH functional groups in Zn(II) binding. The process parameters were optimized and the spontaneous adsorption of Zn(II) was found to proceed by multilayer formation by following pseudo-second-order kinetics. SDS adsorbent (0.1 g) exhibited a greater potential for removal of Zn(II) from industrial effluents as compared to SDB and SDF at pH = 6.0 with the equilibrium adsorption capacity of 45.87 mg/g. Therefore, SDS could be a promising adsorbent for the treatment of wastewater in small-scale industries.