International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—The aim of the present study was examination the ability of different contents of kiwi shell to adsorb different types (cadmium, nickel and lead) and concentrations (5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 100 mgl-1) of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions. The kiwi shell samples were collected from gardens of northern Iran, washed and grounded to assess the monometal and competitive adsorption behavior of Cd, Ni and Pb on the kiwi shell. The sum of adsorbed heavy metals on the kiwi shell could well described using both the Freundlich (R2 between 0.92 – 0.98) and Langmuir (R2 between 0.96 – 0.99) equations. All of the sorption isotherms were of the L-curve type. Results from the batch experiments show that the maximum adsorption capacities of the metals by the kiwi shell were in the order of Pb >> Ni > Cd based on the both monometal and competitive systems. The distribution coefficient (kd), Freundlich capacity coefficient (kF) and Langmuir maximum capacity (a) were higher in monometal than in competitive system. Competition significantly reduced metals k, especially for Cd and Ni. The sorption capacity in different contents of kiwi shell was in the order of 5 > 3 > 1 g for the metals. The total sorption amount increased with the increasing the initial concentration of the metal; however, distribution coefficient values for each metal concentration at both systems indicated that the kiwi shell capacities for sorption decreased with increasing the initial concentration of the metals.

Index Terms—Kiwi shell, sorption of heavy metals.

R. Galeshi. is with the Corporation of Mehravijhe, Iran (e-mail: ramingaleshi1981@gmail.com).

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Cite: R. Galeshi, "Removal of Heavy Metals from Polluted Solutions Using Kiwi Shell," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 75-79, 2017.