Cornhusk is composed of high cellulosic fibers and is a common agricultural waste. Our study aims to evaluate its cation exchange properties, as exhibited by similar materials like coconut coir and cotton. The fibers were titrated with NaOH solution and titration curves were constructed. The titration curve was lowered in the presence of corn husk as the pH of the solution increased to pH 6.  The addition of nitrate solutions of Co2+ and Pb2+ dramatically decreased the slope of the titration curve starting at pH 4, and at pH 9 with Ni2+. Using ICP-OES, cornhusk fiber was also evaluated in its ability to remove the metal ions during the titration. As the pH increased from pH 4 to 9, the amount of cations removed from solution increased, from 18.1% to 81.2 % for Co2+, from 21% to 97.8 % for Pb2+, and from 14.0 to 43.7 % for Ni2+. These results demonstrate the weakly acidic behavior of cornhusk, especially at higher pH, and suggest its use for cation exchange applications. The effect of cornhusk on the removal of other heavy metal pollutants usually detected in water (Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+, and Hg2+) are currently being evaluated.

Cation exchange properties of cornhusk

247th National Meeting (2014)

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