Studies on the Influence of Mercaptoacetic Acid (MAA) Modification of Cassava (Manihot sculenta Cranz) Waste Biomass on the Adsorption of Cu2+ and Cd2+ from Aqueous Solution

Cassava peelings waste, which is both a waste and pollutant, was chemically modified using mercaptoacetic acid (MAA) and used to adsorb $Cu^{2+}\;and\;Cd^{2+}$ from aqueous solution over a wide range of reaction conditions at $30^{\circ}C$. Acid modification produced a larger surface area, which significantly enhanced the metal ion binding capacity of the biomass. An adsorption model based on the $Cu^{2+}/Cd^{2+}$ adsorption differences was developed to predict the competition of the two metal ions towards binding sites for a mixed metal ion system. The phytosorption process was examined in terms of Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich models. The models indicate that the cassava waste biomass had a greater phytosorption capacity, higher affinity and greater sorption intensity for $Cu^{2+}\;than\;Cd^{2+}$. According to the evaluation using Langmuir equation, the monolayer binding capacity obtained was 127.3 mg/g $Cu^{2+}$ and 119.6 mg/g $Cd^{2+}$. The kinetic studies showed that the phytosorption rates could be described better by a pseudo-second order process and the rate coefficients was determined to be $2.04{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}\;and\;1.98{\times}10^{-3}\;min^{-1}\;for\;Cu^{2+}\;and\;Cd^{2+}$ respectively. The results from these studies indicated that acid treated cassava waste biomass could be an efficient sorbent for the removal of toxic and valuable metals from industrial effluents.