Effect of particle size on cadmium removal by banana peels

Abstract

Contamination of metals in aquatic environment is a worldwide problem because of its toxicity and capability to accumulate in biological chain, as well as persistence in the natural environment. Therefore various expensive technologies have been applied to treat metal-polluted water. In Malaysia there are abundance of banana species available which could provide cheap, low cost and environmental friendly bio-materials. Preliminary study was conducted on two species of banana i.e. Musa balbisiana (Nipah) and Musa acuminata (Kapas). The banana peels were washed, dried and grounded into various range of particle sizes (0.20–1.18 mm). The ability of the adsorbents were determined by agitation of 1.0 g banana peel and 100 ml of cadmium standard solution at the concentration of 100 mg/L. Musa balbisiana showed the highest removal of cadmium at 89.58% from the initial concentration compared to Musa acuminate with the particle size of 0.30-0.60 mm. Adsorption equilibrium data are well described by Langmuir isotherm model. The result also shows that different species have different capabilities to adsorb metal. Hence, their potential as bio-adsorbent could be further be examined for metal removal from wastewater.