Male palm inflorescence (Elaeis guneensis Jacq.) obtained from palm trees at Ugbowo Campus of University of Benin, Benin city, Nigeria was washed, dried, pulverized and  sieved to obtain three particulate sizes: 75�m, 300�m and 600�m. These were oven-dried at 1050C to constant weight and preserved in a desiccator for the experiment. One gram (1.00g) of the pulverized palm inflorescence (adsorbent) of each particulate size was weighed into 100ml conical flasks containing 50 ml of 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0 and 10.0ppm Ni2+ ions, respectively. These were shaken for 30 min after which they were filtered and the filtrate used for atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS) analysis. The experiment was repeated using Cd2+, Pb2+ and Co2+ ions, respectively. The effects of particulate size (surface area), temperature, pH and initial metal ion (adsorbate) concentration on the extent of sorption, were studied. The infrared (IR) spectra of the adsorbent were also investigated. Results indicated that sorption capacity was best at pH 4.0 for the four metal ions studied. The effect of temperature revealed that generally maximum sorption occurred at 290C for all metal ions studied, compared to other temperatures of 400C, 700C and 900C. There was a general increase in adsorption of all the metal ions studied as their initial concentrations increased. The adsorbent particulate size of 75�m had the greatest adsorption capacity for all metal ions studied. IR analysis of the adsorbent suggested the presence of C=O, C-H, RHC=O, R-O-R, C=O, R2N-H functional groups.

Palm inflorescence as adsorbent for the removal of some heavy metals (Pb, Co, Ni, and Cd) ions from aqueous system

247th National Meeting (2014)

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