Removal of Lead (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution by Tricholoma terreum: Kinetics Studies

Lead and its various compounds have the potency of causing several health problems such as blood disorder, hypertension, renal impairment, neurological damage among others. The removal of Pb (II) ions by Tricholoma terreum was performed in a batch biosorption experiments to evaluate the effects of initial concentration of adsorbate, contact time, temperature and solution pH. Maximum biosorption efficiency was obtained to be 11.9 and 14.0 mg/g by untreated and acid-treated mushroom at initial adsorbate concentration of 70 mg/L, contact time of 5 hours, temperature of 60oC and solution pH of 2.0. The biosorption data was well fitted by the Ho’s pseudo-second-order kinetic model. FT-IR characterizations of the mushroom before and after adsorption suggest that carbonyl group, amide and aromatic double bonds probably participated in the adsorption process.