Preparation and characterisation of tamarind 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (THBA) resin and its use in extraction of heavy metal ions from industrial wastewater

Abstract

The adsorption of heavy metal cations, Pb(II), Cd(II), Cu(II), Zn(II) and Fe(II) from aqueous solution by newly-synthesized tamarind 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (THBA) resin was investigated. The resin was characterised on the basis of FTIR, elemental analysis, ion-exchange capacity and physico-chemical properties. The distribution coefficients (Kd) and percentage adsorption of metal ions on resin were determined by batch methods using atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The effect of experimental parameters, such as pH, treatment time, temperature, adsorbent dose, initial metal ion concentration and flow rate, on the removal of metal ions was also studied. THBA resin proved to be an effective adsorbent for the removal of different heavy metal ions from aqueous solution; removal efficiency followed the order: Fe(II) > Cu(II) > Zn(II) > Cd(II) > Pb(II). These results suggest that the cation exchange resin THBA holds great potential to remove cationic heavy metal species from industrial wastewater.