Kinetic and equilibrium modeling of biosorption of nickel (II) and cadmium (II) on brewery sludge

Abstract

In the current study, utilization of industrial waste brewery sludge for the biosorption of nickel (II) and cadmium (II) has been explored. The suitable conditions for the effective removal of Ni (II) and Cd (II) from aqueous solutions were examined. The kinetic evaluation showed that the biosorption process using the sludge followed pseudo-second order kinetics. In the presence of a metal co-ion, competitive and preferential biosorption was observed. The Langmuir model and Freundlich model were able to describe the sorption equilibrium for biosorption of Ni (II) and Cd (II) ions in single and dual metal systems. The effects of co-ion concentrations onto mono-component isotherm parameters (Langmuir and Freundlich) were studied and the inhibitory effect of co-ion concentration was observed. The effective reusability of biomass was assessed by three cycles of sorption-desorption. The sludge, owing to its high biosorption intensity and large availability from the local supply, is a better biosorbent for the treatment of Ni (II) and Cd (II) contaminated water. © IWA Publishing 2019 Water Science & Technology.