This paper reports a study of the removal of heavy metals from water by unconventional waste products including the wooden sawdust of poplar, cherry, spruce and hornbeam. The efficiency of Cu(II), Zn(II), and Fe(II) ion sorption under various initial concentrations from model solutions by raw and alkaline-modified sawdust was investigated. Data obtained by neutron activation analysis revealed that ion exchange is one of the mechanisms underlying metal removal by the selected sawdust from the model solutions. Analysis of the structure and morphology of natural and alkali-modified wooden sawdust by SEM/EDX did not reveal significant changes. The FT-IR spectra showed changes in functional groups due to the alkaline modification of sawdust where the intensity of hydroxyl peaks was considerably increased. It was found that the sorption capacity of the modified sawdust for the model solutions of 50 mg.L-1 of Cu(II) and Zn(II) was approximately 4.5 times higher in comparison to the untreated sawdust; however, the alkaline-modified sawdust had a negative influence on Fe(II) ion removal because of organic-metallic dye formations. The adsorption capacity of the alkaline modified wooden sawdust for the removal of heavy metals from wastewater was improved.

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The heavy metal removal from wastewater is very important due to their persistent character in aquatic environment. The use of wooden sawdust is emerging as a potential alternative to the existing conventional technologies for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions. The aim of this work is to study the Cu(II) removal of from water by unconventional waste products including the wooden sawdust of poplar, cherry, spruce and hornbeam. The FT-IR spectra of the studied wooden sawdust confirmed the presence of functional groups that have potential for heavy metal binding. The highest efficiency of Cu(II) removal was observed for poplar wooden sawdust at static (86 %) and dynamic (88 %) adsorption experiments. Data obtained by neutron activation analysis revealed that ion exchange is also a mechanism of metal removal by the selected wooden sawdust.