The regionally dominant biomass (leaves of F.virens) selectively adsorb lead from municipal solid waste incineration fly ash pickling wastewater

Abstract Leaves of F. virens (FVL) were investigated as a novel biosorbent for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions such as municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) fly ash pickling wastewater. The dried leaves of F. virens were crushed and used to adsorb lead over 4 h. Results of batch experiments demonstrate that biosorption processes followed pseudo-second-order kinetics and the Langmuir isotherm model. Activation energy was 39.707 kJ/mol and maximum lead loading capacity of FVL was 82.1 mg/g at 303 K. Thermodynamic parameters, including ΔG° (-32.11 kJ/mol), ΔH° (85.552 kJ/mol) and ΔS° (388.30 J/mol/K), indicated spontaneous and endothermic physicochemical sorption process. The dominate adsorption mechanism was complexation and involved carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of cellulose and hemicellulose. The removal efficiency of leaves of F.virens for heavy metals was found to be Pb > Cu > Cr > Zn > Cd. Leaves of F. virens are a regionally dominant biomass of southwest China and are an excellent selective adsorbent of lead ions in wastewater containing complex heavy metals.