• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.428-432
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• 2013

From the forest areas in Chungbuk, large amounts of wood wastes by pruning are generated, however most of them considered as by-products are not treated properly with no disposal options. In this work, among diverse wood wastes such as Quercus variabillis, Juniperus chinensis, Larix kaemoferi, and Pinus densiflora, Juniperus chinensis was found to be more effective biosorbent for the removal of lead ions than other wood wastes. Also, the enhancement of lead removal efficiency from the aqueous phase was investigated using Juniperus chinensis waste. It was observed that the optimal initial pH to increase the removal efficiency of 20 mg/L lead ions was 4.0 and the optimal dosage concentration with regard to the biosorbent for the enhanced removal of 50 mg/L lead ions was 0.6 g/100 mL. In addition, chemical treatment of Juniperus chinensis waste with sulfuric acid was required to improve the adsorption capacity for high lead concentrations (over 100 mg/L). When Juniperus chinensis waste was chemically treated with 6 M sulfuric acid, the adsorption quantities of lead ions were 180, 340, and 425 mg/g with regard to 200, 400, and 500 mg/L lead ions concentrations, respectively. These results indicate that the practical biosorbent technology developed in this study is a highly efficient method to treat the lead ion from an aqueous solution.