| Summary: | <p>Previous laboratory batch experiments indicated that elephant grass biomass had an excellent ability to bind cadmium(II) and gold(III) from aqueous solution. The aim of this research was to study the ability of elephant grass biomass as a biomaterial for removal of chromium(III), lead(II), cobalt(II), and zinc(II) from aqueous solution. Batch laboratory pH profile, time dependency, and capacity experiments were performed with oven-dried and ground (120-150 mesh) leaves of elephant grass to evaluate the binding properties. Calculation of metal ion bound by biomass based on the concentrations of metal ions before and after binding process. The concentrations of metal ions after binding process were determined by using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Batch pH profile experiments for the mentioned ions indicated that the optimum pH for metal binding were 5 for chromium(III), lead(II), and cobalt(II) and 4 for zinc(II). Time dependency experiments showed that optimum condition occurred at 15 minutes for chromium(III) and cobalt(II), 60 minutes for lead(II), and 20 minutes for zinc(II). Binding capacity experiments revealed the following amounts of metal ions bound per gram of biomass : 18.66 mg Cr(III), 49.49 mg Pb(II), 20.89 mg Co(II), and 3.45 mg Zn(II).</p>
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