International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, Mar. 2013.

©IJAET ISSN: 2231-1963

EQUILIBRIUM ISOTHERM ANALYSIS OF THE BIOSORPTION

OF ZN2+ IONS BY ACID TREATED ZEA MAYS LEAF POWDER
Nharingo Tichaona and Hunga Olindah
Department of Chemical Technology, Midlands State University,
P Bag 9055, Senka, Gweru, Zimbabwe

ABSTRACT
The potential of Zea Mays leaf powder for the removal of Zn2+ ions from waste waters was investigated using
the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich (D-R) adsorption isotherms. Batch biosorption studies
were carried out in stopper Erlenmeyer flasks to optimize pH, contact time and biomass dosage at a solution
temperature of 27 ± 2 oC, a flask agitation rate of 200 rpm and initial concentration of Zn2+ ions of 100 mg/L.
Adsorption isotherm experiments were contacted by varying metal ion initial concentration in the range from 10
to 100 mg/L under optimum conditions of pH 5, 120 minute contact time, a dosage of 1g/L at constant
temperature and agitation rate of 27 ± 2 oC and 200 rpm respectively. The equilibrium data showed good fit to
all the adsorption isotherms with R2 ≥ 0.98. High maximum sorption capacities were obtained from Langmuir
(74.0741 mg/g) and D-R (13.2779 mg/g) isotherms. The Langmuir dimensionless separation factor (RL)
depicted sorption favorability with all its values falling between 0 and 1 for all initial concentrations
investigated. The Freundlich adsorption intensity parameter fell in the range 1 < n < 10 showing easy-
separation beneficial biosorption. The magnitude and sign of the mean biosorption energy (ED = 22.9419
kJ/mol) suggested the sorption process to be physisorption and endothermic in nature. The equilibrium sorption
study showed that Zea Mays leaf powder can be effectively used for the biosorption of Zn2+ ions from waste
waters.

KEYWORDS: Biosorption, Dubinin-Radushkevich isotherm, waste waters, Zea mays, zinc.

I. INTRODUCTION
Industrial activities have contributed to the increase of toxic heavy metals in plants and animals that
survive or live in water [1]. Among the various metal ions present in waste waters from mining
operations, electronics, electroplating and municipalities, zinc is one of the most prevalent heavy
metal [2]. Zinc is not biodegradable and it travels through the food chain and it bioaccumulates
causing zinc-induced copper deficiency [3]. Acute adverse effects of high zinc intake include nausea,
vomiting, loss of appetite, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and headaches.
Removal of heavy metal ions from waste waters is usually achieved by physico-chemical processes
such as precipitation, coagulation, ion exchange, chemical oxidation and reduction, membrane
processes and evaporation recovery [3]. However these techniques have disadvantages such as less
efficiency, are expensive, sensitive operating conditions, low removal of the metal ions less than 100
mg/L and the production of toxic secondary sludge [4]. Such drawbacks led to the discovery of
biosorption that has several advantages over the conventional treatment methods. The advantages
include: low cost, high efficiency, ready availability, high uptake capacity, minimization of sludge
and regeneration of the sorbent [5].
A variety of biomaterials have been tested on the removal of heavy metal ions from wastewaters [1-
4]. Among these sorbents, parts of the Zea mays plant have been extensively investigated for their
potential to remove both dyes and heavy metal ions [4], [6], [7]. Untreated Zea mays leaf powder was
investigated for its potential to remove zinc ions from waste waters [8] and a maximum sorption
capacity of 2.805 mg/g was achieved. There is need for biomass treatment to reduce fowling and

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desorb inorganic and organic materials adsorbed during plant growth [9] that may interact with metal
ions. The treatment cleans up the surface and opens up the biosorbent pores and hence the biosorption
capacity of the sorbent is enhanced. In addition to surface clean up, biomass treatment chemically
modifies the sorption sites [10]. The preliminary investigation on the best chemical to treat the
biomass involved the use of alkalis, inorganic and organic acids. Hydrochloric acid produced the
highest sorption capacity and nitric acid oxidized the biomass from grey to brown-red color and it
produced the least sorption capacity.
Zimbabwe, a southern African country, has an agro-based economy with Zea Mays (ZM) as its staple
food. The country requires an estimated 2 million tones of ZM grain every year that is produced under
both commercial and subsistence farming [11]. Large amounts of Zea Mays plants are produced
yearly and a small fraction of these is used as/or to make stock feeds after harvest. The majority of the
maize stalks and leaves are burnt during land preparation for winter crop (wheat) production.
The study focused on the use of the most abundant Zea Mays leaf powder, treated with 0.1 M HCl, in
the removal of Zn2+ ions from simulated waste waters under sorption conditions of pH, contact time
and adsorbent dosage at constant temperature, flask agitation rate and volume of synthetic effluent.
The effect of initial concentration was investigated under optimum conditions and the equilibrium
data obtained was analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption
isotherms. The Zea mays leaf powder proved to be a good biosorbent of Zn2+ ions with the sorption
process being endothermic and physisorption in nature.
1.1 Related work
The removal of Zn2+ ions from waste waters by adsorption onto plant waste products has received
overwhelming attention. Sunflower stalks and carrot residues have been employed and the Langmuir
maximum sorption capacities were found to be 30.70 and 29.90 mg/g respectively [7]. Mahamadi and
Nharingo [9] investigated the removal of zinc ions using Eichhornia crassipes root powder and found
the sorption capacity to be 12.5 mg/g.
The various parts of the Zea mays plant have been investigated for their potential to clean waste
waters of heavy metal ions. Bioremediation of Zn2+ ions from aqueous solution using unmodified and
EDTA-modified maize cobs was performed and maximum sorption capacities of 57.47 and -5.59
mg/g respectively were reported [12]. The use of maize stalks resulted in maximum sorption capacity
of 30.30 mg/g. The removal of Zn2+ ions from solution was also studied employing natural (untreated)
maize leaf powder and very low maximum sorption capacity of 2.8 mg/g was reported [8]. Sorption
enhancement of the maize leaf powder may be achieved through chemical treatment, hence the need
to explore possible chemical treatment methods.

II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Biomass preparation and treatment.
The Zea Mays leaves were harvested from a farm near City of Gweru, Zimbabwe. The leaves were
washed with tape water and were rinsed three times with deionized water. They were oven dried at 80
o
C to constant mass. The leaves were crushed and ground to a powder and acid treated with1000 mL
of 0.1 M HCl for 24 hours at room temperature over a reciprocated shaker (HY-4) set at 200 rpm. The
biomass was rinsed with deionized water until a pH of 7 was attained [13]. It was dried in an oven
(N75C Genlab) at 60oC for three days and was stored in polyethene containers. This Acid Treated Zea
Mays (ATZM) leaf powder was used for all sorption experiments.
2.2 Optimization of adsorption parameters
The batch experiments were carried out in stopper Erlenmeyer flasks at constant solution volume of
50 mL, a temperature of 27 ± 2 oC and a flask agitation rate of 200 rpm. All the experiments were
contacted in triplicates and averages were used in data analysis. The sorbent was separated from the
solution by vacuum filtration at appropriate time intervals. The initial and residual Zn2+ ion
concentrations were determined by a Shimadzu Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AA-6800).
2.2.1 Effect of pH

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The effect of pH on the biosorption of Zn2+ onto ATZM leaf powder was investigated over the pH
range from 2 to 7. All pH adjustments were done using 0.1 M HCl and NaOH as appropriate. A
volume of 50 mL of pH adjusted 100 mg/L of Zn2+ ion solution was agitated with 0.1 g of ATZM leaf
powder for 12 hours. The samples were then vacuum filtered and analyzed for residual Zn2+
concentration using Flame Atomic Spectrophotometer (FAAS).
2.2.2 Effect of contact time
The effect of contact time on the biosorption of Zn2+ onto ATZM leaf powder was evaluated from 15
to 180 minutes. A series of Erlenmeyer flasks containing 50 mL of 100 mg/L Zn2+ solution contacted
with 0.1 g of ATZM leaf powder at pH 5, were placed on a shaker at 200 rpm. Triplicate analysis of
residual zinc ion was done at 15 minute intervals for the time range given.
2.2.3 Effect of biomass dosage
Varying doses of ATZM leaf powder in the range from 0.1 to 1 g were contacted with 50 mL of 100
mg/L of Zn2+ ion solution at pH 5. The mixture was agitated on a reciprocated shaker at 200 rpm at a
temperature of 27 ± 2 oC for 120 minutes.
2.3 Adsorption equilibrium studies.
Equilibrium studies were performed with different initial concentrations of Zn2+ ions ranging from 10
to 100 mg/L at optimum experimental conditions. ATZM leaf powder (0.5 g) was added to 50 mL of
Zn2+ ions of different initial concentrations at a pH of 5 and a temperature of 27 ± 2 oC. The flasks
were placed on a shaker at 200 rpm for 120 minutes. The analyses of both initial and residual Zn2+ ion
concentrations were done by FAAS [14].
2.4 Zn2+ ion analysis by FAAS.
The concentration of Zn2+ ions before and after biosorption was determined by a Shimadzu AA-6800
Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer. Spectroscopic grade, Zn(NO3)2, standards were used to
calibrate the instrument over the linear dynamic range of 2 to 8 mg/L. The minimum acceptable
correlation of determination was 0.997 in all instrument calibrations [10]. Triplicate analysis of the
sample was done after appropriate sample dilution.
2.5 Calculations.
Linear regression analysis was used to test the fitness of equilibrium data to the equilibrium isotherm
models. All plots with R2 > 0.970 were regarded as linear and therefore revealed fitness of the data to
the model [15].
The amount of metal ion adsorbed at equilibrium, Qe, was calculated using the mass balance equation
1.
( )
Q = (1)
Where Co and Ce are initial and equilibrium metal ion concentrations (mg/L) and m is the mass of the
sorbent (g).
The rate of adsorption was estimated using equation 2 below:
Rate of adsorption = (2)
Where Qt is the metal ion adsorbed after the biomass is exposed to the synthetic effluent for time, t
minutes.

III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

3.1 Effect of pH
The influence of pH on the biosorption capacity of zinc is shown in Fig 1. Solution pH affects metal
species distribution. At low pH, Zn2+ (aq) species dominate while at high pH Zn (OH)2 (s) dominates.
The amount of Zn2+ ions sorbed (Qe) increased with increase in pH up to an optimum pH of 5. At low
pH, the surface of the biomass would be protonated and would therefore repel Zn2+ ions [16]. H3O+
dominates the competition against Zn2+ ions for the sorption sites on the biomass surface and hence
the sorption of Zn2+ is minimal at low pHs. Increasing the pH resulted in increasing the number of

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negatively charged sites and decreasing the number of positively charged sites on the biomass that
favored the electrostatic attraction of the Zn2+ ions[17]. After pH 6, the observed increase in Zn2+
removal was attributed to the precipitation of Zn (OH)2 [18] that may be mistaken as having been
removed by the sorption process.

Fig 1. Effects of pH on zinc sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

3.2 Effect of contact time

The effect of contact time on the biosorption of Zn2+ ions by ATZM leaf powder is shown in Fig 2.
The trend shows that the amount of metal ion sorbed (Qe) increases with contact time. Sorption rate
was very high for the first 30 minutes (0.809 mgg-1min-1); it fell drastically from 45 to 105 minutes
(0.193 mgg-1min-1) and was around zero from 120 minutes onwards.

Fig 2. Effect of contact time on zinc sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

The high sorption rate at the initial stage of the sorption process was attributed to higher concentration
gradient between Zn2+ ions in solution (100 mg/L) and those on the sorbent surface (almost zero). The
number of vacant sites on ATZM surface gradually decreased with contact time leading to decreasing
concentration gradients and hence rates of sorption of the Zn2+ ions until equilibrium was achieved
[19].
3.3 Effect of biosorbent dosage

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Fig 3. Effect of adsorbent dosage on zinc sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

As shown in Fig 3, the uptake of Zn2+ ions increased with an increase in biosorbent dosage up to the
optimum dosage of 0.5 g. During initial stages of sorption, the biosorbent dosage offered limited
surface area and its addition would increase the surface area on which sorption occurred. This
inevitably increased the sorption process. After the optimum biosorbent dosage of 0.5 g, the biomass
was in excess and the concentration Zn2+ ions became limiting hence some sorption sites remained
unoccupied. Further increase in dosage resulted in reduction in Zn2+ ion uptake. As the dosage
increases, the mass of Zn2+ ions adsorbed per unit weight of the biosorbent decreases giving rise to
decrease in Qe values [20].
3.4 Effect of initial metal ion concentration

Fig 4. Effect of initial zinc concentration on its sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

The effect of initial zinc ion concentration on Qe is shown in Fig 4. The initial metal ion concentration
was varied from 10 to120 mg/L under optimum conditions. As the concentration increased the amount
of metal ion sorbed increased up to 100 mg/L after which it became constant. Increasing the initial
concentration increased the sorption gradient (Zn2+ in solution and those on the biomass surface) and
hence Qe increased. The initial zinc ion concentration provides the driving force to overcome mass
transfer resistance between the two phases. It also promotes the interaction between adsorbent and
sorbate [21]. After the initial concentration of 100 mg/L, biomass saturation occurred and the biomass
became limiting. Further increase in initial Zn2+ ion concentration would not increase Qe since all
available sites were utilized.

IV. ADSORPTION ISOTHERM PARAMETERS

Equilibrium studies were carried out with varying initial concentrations of Zn2+ ions in the range from
10 to 100 mg/L under optimized conditions of pH (5), contact time (120 minutes) and biosorbent

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dosage (0.5 g). The equilibrium data obtained was fitted to Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-
Radushkevich adsorption isotherms.
4.1 Langmuir adsorption isotherm.
The adsorption isotherm assumes the existence of monolayer coverage of adsorbate on the structurally
homogeneous surface of the adsorbent. All the sorption sites are assumed to be identical and
energetically equivalent [21]. The general and linearized forms of the Langmuir adsorption isotherms
are expressed in equation (3) and (4) respectively:
= (3)
= + (4)
Where Qe is the metal ion adsorbed at equilibrium (mg/g), Ce is the equilibrium concentration of the
metal ion (mg/L) b and Qo are the constants related to the energy of adsorption and the maximum
adsorption capacity respectively,[22], [23]. The values of Qo and b were calculated from the intercept
and slope of the linear plot of 1/Qe against 1/Ce. The equilibrium data was fully described by the
Langmuir adsorption isotherm as shown in Fig 5.

Fig 5. Langmuir plot for the adsorption of zinc onto ATZM leaf powder.

Table 1. Adsorption isotherm parameters for zinc sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

Langmuir Freundlich Dubinin-Radushkevich

2 2
Qo b R Kf 1/n R QD BD ED R2
74.0741 0.0149 0.9970 1.0852 0.9673 0.9962 13.2779 9.5x10-4 22.9419 0.9800

Table 1 shows the adsorption isotherm parameters. A low b value on the Langmuir adsorption
parameters indicated the low affinity of the sorbent for the sorbate [9]. The biomass exhibited a high
adsorption capacity, implying that the biomass can be successfully used for the removal of Zn2+ ions
from aqueous solution with a minimum number of adsorption cycles. The essential characteristics of
the Langmuir isotherm may be expressed in terms of the separation factor, RL that is calculated using
the relationship shown in equation 5:
RL = (5)
Where b is the Langmuir equilibrium constant related to the energy of adsorption and Co is the initial
metal ion concentration. The value of RL lying between 0 and 1 shows favorable adsorption, RL > 1
unfavorable adsorption, RL = 1 adsorbate and adsorbent exhibit a linear relationship and when RL= 0
chemisorption predominates and is irreversible [24]. Fig 6 shows the plot of the separation factor
against initial concentration of Zn2+ ions.

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Fig 6. Separation factor for the sorption of zinc onto ATZM leaf powder.

The RL values in Fig 6 showed that adsorption was more favorable at higher initial concentrations
than at low concentration. The result pointed to a physisorption mechanism of adsorption. A similar
trend was obtained by many researchers [9, 19, 24, 25].

4.2 Freundlich adsorption isotherm

This adsorption isotherm assumes that the adsorption occurs on amorphous surface that is
heterogeneous and there is exponential distribution of active sites and their energies [26]. The
logarithmic form of the Freundlich adsorption isotherm is expressed in equation 6 below [15].
ln = ln + 1 ln (6)
Where Qe and Ce have similar meaning to those in the Langmuir adsorption isotherm while Kf and 1/n
are the adsorption capacity and adsorption intensity respectively. Kf and 1/n were obtained from the
intercept and gradient of the linear plot of lnQe against lnCe shown in Fig 7.
The Freundlich adsorption parameters are shown in Table 1. The R2 value confirmed the fitness of the
data to this model [27]. The adsorption intensity parameter (1/n), was within the range 1< n <10 that
shows that there was easy separation beneficial biosorption and therefore must be capitalized.

Fig 7. Freundlich plot for the sorption of zinc onto ATZM leaf powder.

The adsorption capacity (Table 1) was larger than those for Ni2+ (0.85 mg/g) and Cr3+ (0.41 mg/g)
during their sorption onto fungal pellets [28] but was comparable to that of As (1.128 mg/g) onto
palm bark (PB) biomass [29].

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4.3 Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm.
In order to estimate the characteristic porosity of the ATZM leaf powder and the apparent energy of
adsorption, the Dubinin-Radushkevich adsorption isotherm was used to fit the equilibrium data. The
general equation is represented by [30]:
= ( [ (1 + 1/ )] ] (7)
The linear form of the equation is presented as in 8:
= 2 (1 + ) (8)
Where Qe and Ce are the metal ion sorbed at equilibrium (mg/g) and equilibrium concentration (mg/L)
respectively, QD is the Dudinin-Radushkvch constant related to the degree of sorbate sorption by the
sorbent surface and BD is related to the free energy of sorption per mole of the sorbate as it migrates to
the surface from infinite distance in the solution [15]. A linear plot of lnQe against RTln(1+1/Ce) gives
the gradient as -2BD and the intercept as lnQD from which the adsorption isotherm parameters can be
calculated [31]. The apparent energy of adsorption (ED) is calculated using the relationship in equation
9:
=1
(2 ) /
(9)

Fig 8. Dubinini-Radushkevich plot for zinc sorption onto ATZM leaf powder.

The very high and good correlation of determination on Fig 8 depicts good fit for the Dubinin-
Radushkevich isotherm for the data. The D-R parameters are shown in Table 1. The maximum
sorption capacity of the sorbent revealed a high degree of sorbate sorption by the sorbent compared to
that obtained by El-Said during the sorption of Pb(II) ions onto rice husk and its ash [26]. The QD
values obtained during the sorption of Al(III), Co(II) and Ag(I) onto fluted pumpkin waste biomass
were all less than 8 mg/g [32]. The biosorption of Zn2+ ions onto ATZM leaf powder followed a
physisorption process since physisorption processes have adsorption energies less than 40 kJ/mol
[31]. The positive ED implied that the sorption process was endothermic and that the sorption process
would increase with increase in solution temperature. Similar results were obtained by Oladoja et al
[33] during the sorption of Congo red onto palm kernel coat and by [30] during the sorption of
atrazine onto sheanut shells.

Table 2. Langmuir constant, Qo, for different adsorbents.

Biosorbent Sorbate qm (mg/g) Reference

E. crassipes root powder Zn(II) 12.50 [9]
Bone ash Zn(II) 21.20 [34]
Wood ash Zn(II) 7.50 [35]
Green microalga Zn(II) 4.31 [36]
Red mud Zn(II) 12.56 [37]

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Green coconut shell Zn(II) 17.08 [38]
Maize stalks Zn(II) 30.30 [7]
Sunflower stalks Zn(II) 30.70 [7]
Carrot residues Zn(II) 29.60 [7]
Oil palm ash Zn(II) 10.66 [39]
Maize leaf powder Zn(II) 2.80 [8]
Myriophyllum spicatum Zn(II) 15.59 [40]
Saccharomyces cerevisiae Zn(II) 1.73 [41]
Pseudomonas putida CZ1 Zn(II) 17.70 [42]
ATZM leaf powder. Zn(II) 74.04 Current study

Table 2 shows the comparison of the Langmuir maximum sorption capacity, Qo, of different
biosorbents to that of ATZM obtained in this study. The Qo of ATZM is 26.4 times greater than that
of untreated maize leaf powder [8] and is 3 to 30 times greater than that of other biosorbents
presented. Acid treated Zea mays finds a better place in the biosorption field and it needs further
investigations using real effluent.

V. CONCLUSIONS
The acid treated Zea Mays leaf powder proved to be an excellent biosorbent for Zn2+ ions from
aqueous solution at optimum conditions of pH 5, contact time of 120 minutes and a biomass dosage of
5 g/L. An easy separation beneficial sorption, physical and endothermic in nature was involved in the
sorption process. It has high maximum adsorption capacity, sorption favorability and adsorption
intensity and hence implementable.

VI. FUTURE WORK

Further research on column sorption studies employing industrial effluent rich in Zn2+ ion
concentration need to be done. Real effluent is rich in Fe(III), Ca(II) and Mg(II) ions. The effect of
these ions on the sorption of zinc onto ATZM leaf powder needs to be investigated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge the Chemical Technology staff members of Midlands State
University for their support.

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International Journal of Advances in Engineering & Technology, Mar. 2013.
©IJAET ISSN: 2231-1963

AUTHORS BIOGRAPHIES

Nharingo Tichaona was born in Chivi, Zimbabwe, in 1974. He received the

Bachelor of Science Honors in Chemistry degree from Bindura University of
Science Education, Bindura, in 2005 and the Master in Inorganic chemistry
degree from the same university in 2008. His research interests include water
treatment strategies and pesticides/ herbicides in sugarcane.

HungahOlindah was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1989. She received the BSc
Honours in Chemical Technology degree from the Midlands State University,
Gweru, in 2012. Her research interests include spectroscopy and water treatment
strategies.

139 Vol. 6, Issue 1, pp. 128-139