Cadmium Removal from Aqueous Solutions by Ground Pine Cone

A study on the removal of cadmium ions from aqueous solutions by pine cone was conducted in batch conditions. Kinetic data and equilibrium removal isotherms were obtained. The influence of different experimental parameters such as contact time, initial concentration of cadmium, pine cone mass and particle size, and temperature on the kinetics of cadmium removal was studied. Results showed that the main parameters that played an important role in removal phenomenon were initial cadmium concentration, particle size and pine cone mass. The necessary time to reach equilibrium was between 4 and 7 hours based on the initial concentration of cadmium. The capacity of cadmium adsorption at equilibrium increased with the decrease of pine cone particle size. The capacity of cadmium adsorption at equilibrium by pine cone increased with the quantity of pine cone introduced (1-4 g/L). Temperature in the range of 20-30°C showed a restricted effect on the removal kinetics (13.56 mg/g at 20°C and a low capacity of adsorption about 11.48 mg/g at 30°C). The process followed pseudo second-order kinetics. The cadmium uptake of pine cone was quantitatively evaluated using adsorption isotherms. Results indicated that the Langmuir model gave a better fit to the experimental data in comparison with the Freundlich equation.