Adsorption of Pb2+ Ions on Gamma Irradiated Plum Pomace Biochar

Removal of heavy metals is important because of their toxic effects on living organisms and unwanted anthropogenic effects. Biochar is suitable as an adsorbent of heavy metals due to its advantages such as various sources of biomass, a large number of microporous channels and surface functional groups, as well as due to its economic viability. There is no data about the plum pomace biochar usage as adsorbent for lead removal. In this study, the plum pomace biochar modified with gamma irradiation (IrPP) is used for the removal of Pb2+ ions from the aqueous solution. The SEM micrographs revealed that surface morphology of plum pomace is suitable for metal adsorption. The results of adsorption kinetics demonstrated that the removal process of Pb2+ ions onto IrPP follows a pseudo-second kinetic model, which is confirmed by a better agreement between qe,cal=227 mg g–1 and qe,exp=224 mg g–1. Therefore, based on preliminary research, it can be concluded that IrPP originating from biowaste is a promising, eco-friendly sorbent of heavy metal from wastewater.