Utilizing date pits for the environmentally sustainable biosorption of inorganic contamination of some heavy metals in Ramadi city wastewater

Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems and human health are seriously threatened by heavy metal poisoning in municipal wastewater. The potential evaluation of Phoenix dactylifera seed biomass as a biosorbent for the removal of Lead, Copper, Zinc, and Cadmium ions from wastewater in terms of cost and sustainability. The key operational parameters were optimized by batch studies in this paper. Those parameters include pH, temperature, retention time, biosorbent dosage, and particle size. The maximum biosorption efficiencies at a biosorbent dosage of 5 g/L and a particle size of 0.5 mm were achieved at pH 6, 40 °C, and 60 minutes retention time. The best removal efficiency was for Lead (up to 97.83%), followed by Cd, Zn, and Cu. Both carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups participated in the adsorption process as per FTIR and SEM analyses. The Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models were both fitted by the biosorption behavior, which suggested heterogeneous and advantageous adsorption. Levels of the post-biosorption were brought down to below detectable limits; the application to municipal wastewater samples showed unsatisfactory heavy-metal levels. These are results that show efficacy, sustainability, and economic viability of P. dactylifera seed powder as a biosorbent for improving tertiary wastewater treatment and safeguarding aquatic environments.