Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering, Volume 4, No. 3, 2010 - 222 - Decontamination of Cu 2+ - Tainted Water through Biosorption onto Palm Tree Leaf Particles Naser Hamdi 1) , Fahmi A. Abu Al-Rub 2) , Munther Kandah 2) , Hussein Allaboun 2) and Julie Hamdi 3) 1) Biomedical Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid-Jordan 2) Chemical Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science & Technology, P.O. Box 3030, Irbid-Jordan 3) Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering Department, German-Jordanian University, P.O. Box 35247, Amman, Jordan ABSTRACT In this study, the potential use of Palm Tree Leaf (PTL) particles for the removal of copper ions from aqueous solution was investigated. The effects of shaking time, Cu 2+ concentration and equilibrium pH on the biosorption of copper ions from aqueous solution were studied. Batch biosorption experiments proved the technical feasibility of using PTL particles to remove copper ions from aqueous solutions, where Cu 2+ uptake of 17.6 mg/g was observed. The biosorption of copper on PTL particles was pH dependent and maximum copper sorption was found to occur at an equilibrium pH of 5.5. The equilibrium sorption data of copper on PTL particles was described by 2 two-parameter isotherm models: the Freundlich and the Langmuir models, as well as by the three-parameter Redlich-Peterson model. While all three models proved a good fit for the equilibrium sorption data, CFEF non-linear regression analysis indicated that the Redlich-Peterson model resulted in the best fit. Dynamic studies revealed that the initial uptake of copper on PTL particles was rapid, where equilibrium was established within 15 minutes and that the data followed the pseudo second-order reaction. KEYWORDS: Biosorption, Copper, Palm tree leaves, Isotherms. INTRODUCTION Human industrial activity has intensified environmental pollution through the introduction of synthetic compounds and substantially increasing the concentration of major metal ions in aquatic streams and aquifers to toxic levels. Manufacturers of batteries, fertilizers, tanneries and mining industries and the excessive use of pesticides have all contributed to the increase of heavy metal ion concentration at a rate that far exceeds the ability of nature to remove and neutralize them. This, in turn, damages both human health and the environment as toxic metal ions such as copper, chromium, iron, nickel, cadmium, mercury and lead can bioaccumulate, thus amplifying their toxic effects over time (Davies, 1983; Galaris and Evangelou, 2002; Stohs and Bagchi, 1995). As public awareness to the hazards posed by heavy metals in the environment has increased, so has the need and search for cost effective means for the removal of these elements. The removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions may be accomplished through applying a variety of techniques (Gonzalez-Munoz et al., 2006; Panayotova et al., 2007). Conventionally, these have Accepted for Publication on 15/7/2010. © 2010 JUST. All Rights Reserved. CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals