Resumen

HORSFALL JNR, Michael  y  SPIFF, Ayebaemi I.. Effects of temperature on the sorption of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ from aqueous solution by Caladium bicolor (Wild Cocoyam) biomass . Electron. J. Biotechnol. [online]. 2005, vol.8, n.2, pp. 43-50. ISSN 0717-3458.

This report is based on the investigation of the effect of temperature on the removal of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ in aqueous effluent using C. bicolor biomass in a batch sorption process. The result showed that the most suitable sorption temperature was 40ºC with maximum sorption capacities of 49.02 mg/g and 52.63 mg/g for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ respectively. Various thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔG^o, ΔH^o, ΔS^o and E_a have been calculated. The data showed that the sorption process is spontaneous and exothermic in nature and that lower solution temperatures favours metal ion removal by the biomass. The findings of this investigation suggest that physical sorption plays a role in controlling the sorption rate. The sticking probability model was further employed to assess the applicability of the C. bicolor biomass as an alternative adsorbent for metal ion contaminants in aqueous system

Palabras clave : biosorption; Cocoyam; heavy metals removal; temperature; thermodynamics of sorption; waste management.