Electrosorption Removal of the Zinc Ions from Aqueous Solution on an Artificial Electrode based in the Banana Wastes

The valorization of domestic wastes becomes a very important research axis that can reduce the energy consumption and protect our environment. The objective of this study is to remove zinc ions from wastewater by using banana peels after their activation as sensor in the working electrode for an environmental application. Banana peels were dried, crushed and treated with sulfuric acid then mixed with polyaniline to improve their electrical conductivity. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were used for electrochemistry tests. The obtained voltammogramms at well optimized conditions of applied potential of -1.3 V/SCE and initial zinc concentration of 0.2M during 2 hours of electrolysis, showed the reduction peak of the zinc at a potential of -1.14 V/SCE, which confirmed the activity of this electrode. The modeling of experimental data revealed that the adsorption was fitted by the Langmuir isotherm with a maximal adsorption capacity of 3.4188 mg/g. Changes in the structure of the powder after the electrosorption was noticed by SEM and EDX. Finally, the dosage of the electrolytic solution showed a diminution of the zinc concentration with yield of 99.99%.