REMOVAL OF COPPER (II) FROM AQUEOUS SYSTEMS USING MORINGA OLEIFERA PODS: pH INFLUENCE

Nowadays, contamination of water by heavy metals has become a world-wide environmental problem. Recently, bioadsorption has been proposed as an alternative treatment procedure. Moreover, enhancement of agro-industrial waste as raw material for the production of new material is the great interest. In this sense, the aim of this study is to perform a chemical characterization of moringa oleifera pods and subsequent study as bioadsorbent for removal of copper (II) from aqueous systems. The pods used were collected from Guarico, Venezuela. After dried, ground and sieved to a particle size of 595 um, were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (MEB), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and point of zero charge (pH(PZC)). The potential of moringa pods for copper removal was tested under different pH conditions (2.0 to 10.0), biomass (0.5 g), metal concentration (8.0 mg/L), contact time (120 min) and volume of solution (25 ml). The residual metal concentration was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The results showed that this biomaterial containing functional groups and adequate morphological profile for the retention of metal ions. Additionally, present a point of zero charge of 6. The optimal copper removal can be achieved at pH 7 (71%). According to achieved results, moringa pods have promising characteristics for applications Cu (II) remediation from contaminated waters at low cost, easy acquisition, eco-friendly and relatively neutral pH.