| Summary: | This study was focused on investigating the biosorption of cadmium from aqueous solution by regional lignocellulosic wastes such as orange peel and rice husk. Sorbents were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and by determining the pH at the point zero charge. The materials were used in their natural form and modified with potassium hydroxide to analyze the sorption capacity of the contaminant. Removal levels were favoured by using the activated residues and by increasing the pH and dose of the biosorbent, while they decreased by increasing the cadmium concentration. For the systems evaluated, it was found that process equilibrium was quickly achieved, adjusting to a pseudo-second order kinetic. Finally, for orange peel a monolayer sorption would occur, while for rice peel the sites would be heterogeneous with different affinities to cadmium.
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