BIOSORPTION OF LEAD (II) AND CADMIUM (II) IONS IN AQUEOUS

SOLUTION USING Saccharum edule (SUGAR CANE) BAGASSE TREATED

WITH SULFURIC ACID

A Bachelor’s Thesis Proposal

Presented to

The Faculty of Chemistry

College of Science and Mathematics

Western Mindanao State University

In partial fulfillment

Of the Requirement for the Degree of

Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

LACASTESANTOS, RONEL P.

OCTOBER 2017
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

Sugarcane is grown to extract sugar from its stalk. After the juice is extracted, the
remaining sugarcane fibre pulp is called bagasse which is a waste material from
different sugar factories.1 A heavy metal refers to any metallic chemical element that
has a relatively high density and is toxic or poisonous at low. These metals are a
cause of environmental pollution from sources such as leaded petrol, industrial
effluents, and leaching of metal ions from the soil into lakes and rivers by acid rain.2
Lead (Pb) is a highly toxic metal and a very strong poison. Lead poisoning is a
serious and sometimes fatal condition. It occurs when lead builds up in the body.3
Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic elements to which man can be exposed at
work or in the environment. Once absorbed, Cd is efficiently retained in the human
body, in which it accumulates throughout life.4 Cd is primarily toxic to the kidney.
Low cost biomass has been investigated for controlling pollution from diverse
sources in different parts of the world. The application of low-cost adsorbents
obtained from plant wastes as a replacement for costly conventional methods of
removing heavy metal ions from wastewater has been reviewed.5 It is well known that
cellulosic waste materials can be obtained and employed as cheap adsorbents and
their performance to remove heavy metal ions can be affected upon chemical
treatment. Lead and cadmium will be remove using sugar cane bagasse as biosorbent.
Fly ash, Peanut hulls, Banana peels, Neem leaves, Tea waste, Sugar cane bagasse,
Rise husk, Saw dust, Coconut husk, Soybean hulls, Cotton seed hulls are low cost
adsorbents.6
1.1 Objectives of the study

This study focuses on the sugar cane bagasse biomass treated with sulfuric acid
as biosorbent for removing heavy metals such as lead(II) and cadmium(II)) in
aqueous solution. This aims to:
1. Evaluate the adsorptive capacity of the sugar cane bagasse treated with
sulfuric acid in the biosorption systems
a. Pb2+
b. Cd 2+
2. Evaluate optimum concentration, different pH and contact time for the
biosorptive efficiency of the sugar cane bagasse treated with sulfuric acid.

1.2 Significance of the study

Sugar cane bagasse is a waste product from sugar mill mainly composed of
glucose, cellulose, pentose, and lignin. Adsorbent (Sugarcane bagasse) collected
from Sugar industry. Because heavy metals are cause of environmental pollution,
using sugar cane bagasse as low cost biosorbent can be a big help in the
environment and in the people. And the sugar cane bagasse waste material will be
put to good use not just throwing it away.
1.3 Scope of the study

The sample will be collected from Imelda Zamboanga Sibugay and the
preparation of the standard solutions will be conducted at the College of Science
and Mathematics, Western Mindanao State University.

Study will be focusing in the biosorbent capacity of the sugar cane bagasse in lead
and cadmium ions in the solution.
 CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Biosorption method in using low cost biomass materials for removal of heavy
metals are very useful biosorbent.

2.1 Sugar cane bagasse

Sugarcane bagasse is the major by-product of the sugar cane industry. It contains
about 50% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose and 25% lignin. 7 in recent decades,
increased domestic, agricultural and industrial activities worldwide have led to the
release of various pollutants, such as toxic heavy metals, inorganic anions, organics,
micro pollutants and nutrients into the aquatic environment. The removal of these
wide varieties of pollutants for better quality of water for various activities is an
emerging issue and a robust and eco-friendly treatment technology is needed for the
purpose. It is well known that cellulosic materials can be obtained from various
natural sources and can be employed as cheap adsorbents. Their adsorption capacities
for heavy metal ions and other aquatic pollutants can be significantly affected upon
chemical treatment. In general, chemically modified cellulose exhibits higher
adsorption capacities for various aquatic pollutants than their unmodified forms.
Numerous chemicals have been used for cellulose modifications which include
mineral and organic acids, bases, oxidizing agent, organic compounds, etc. This paper
reviews the current state of research on the use of cellulose, a naturally occurring
material, its modified forms and their efficacy as adsorbents for the removal of
various pollutants from waste streams. In this review, an extensive list of various
cellulose-based adsorbents from literature has been compiled and their adsorption
capacities under various conditions for the removal of various pollutants, as available
in the literature, are presented along with highlighting and discussing the key
advancement on the preparation of cellulose-based adsorbents. It is evident from the
literature survey presented herein that modified cellulose-based adsorbents exhibit
good potential for the removal of various aquatic pollutants.8
 CHAPTER 3
METHODS

In this chapter methods in preparing the sample and solutions and other processes
in using the sugarcane bagasse as biosorbent will be specified.

3.1 Solution preparation

Preparing cadmium and lead solution by dissolving solid cadmium sulfate and lead
nitrate in distilled water. Diluting with HNO3 and NaOH solutions to be use for pH
adjustment.

3.2 Preparation of Adsorbents

Biosorbent will be washed with distilled water and dried at room temperature to
avoid releasing of color by the adjustment into the aqueous solution. Activation of the
biosorbent will be carried at by treating the adsorbent by 0.1 N sulfuric acid and will
be kept in an oven at 150◦C for 24 hours. And then will be washed again with
distilled water to remove free acid. Sugar cane bagasse will be placed in an oven for
removal of moisture and adsorbent will passed from 500 micron mesh size and will
be collected for experimental use.

3.3 Batch experiment

Batch experiment will be carried out in 250ml borosil conical flask. Shaking a pre-
weighed amount of adsorbent with 100ml of aqueous lead and cadmium solutions of
known concentration and pH value. Metal solutions will be agitated in a magnetic
stirrer 120 rpm for a desired time. Samples will be withdrawn from the stirrer at the
pre-determined time intervals and adsorbent will be separated by filtration. lead and
cadmium concentrations will be estimated by using the AAS instrument. The
experiment will be carried out by varying the lead and cadmium concentration in the
solution (5-20 ppm), pH (2-5). The adsorbent dosage 0.5-2 gm/100ml for contact time
are (30 – 120 mins). The samples will be collected at different time intervals 30 min
to 2 hours and the adsorbent will be separated by filtering using filter paper.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1.Sugar cane: eat it or knit it , Fibre2Fashion.com

http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article/7048/sugarcane-fibres

2. Singh MR. Impurities-heavy metals: IR prespective. 2007. [Last cited on

200Au10]. Available
from:http://www.usp.org/pdf/EN/meetings/asMeetingIndia/2008Session4track1.pdf

3. Medically Reviewed by University of Illinois-Chicago, College of

Medicine on June 21, 2016 — Written by Jacquelyn Cafasso
http://www.healthline.com/health/lead-poisoning#overview1

4. Department of Public Health, Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium.

bernard@toxi.ucl.ac.be
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19106447

5. International Journal of Advanced Engineering Research and Science (IJAERS)

[Vol-1, Issue-1, June 2014], Kamal Rana, Mitali Shah, Nilesh Limbachiya
6. Zodape.G.V, Dhawan.V.L, Wagh.R.R, Sawant.A.S “Contamination of heavy
metals in seafood marketed from Vile Parle and Dadar markets of suburban areas of
Mumbai (west coast of) India” International Journal Of Environmental Sciences
Volume 1, No 6, 2011.

7. Binod Parameswaran, Bioenergy Research CentreKorea Institute of Energy

Research (KIER)Yusong, Daejon 305-343Republic of Korea
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4020-9942-7_12

8. A review on modification methods to cellulose-based adsorbents to improve

adsorption capacity.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/290884014_A_review_on_modification_me
thods_to_cellulose-based_adsorbents_to_improve_adsorption_capacity