The potential use of spent coffee ground (SCG) for the removal of copper has been investigated as a low‐cost adsorbent for the biosorption of heavy metals. Adsorption batch experiments were conducted to determine isotherms and kinetics. The biosorption equilibrium data were found to fit well the Freundlich model and an experimental maximum biosorption capacity of copper ions 0.214 mmol/g was achieved. The biosorption kinetics of SCG was studied at different adsorbate concentrations (0.1–1.0 mM) and stirring speeds (100–400/min). The results showed an increase in the copper ion uptake with raising the initial metal concentration and the kinetic data followed the pseudo‐second order rate expression. The effect of stirring speed was a significant factor for the external mass transfer resistance at 100/min and coefficients were estimated by the Mathews and Weber model. Biosorption of copper ions onto SCG was observed to be related mainly with the release of calcium and hydrogen ions suggesting that biosorption performance by SCG can be attributed to ion‐exchange mechanism with calcium and hydrogen ions neutralizing the carboxyl and hydroxyl groups of the biomass.

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Equilibrium and dynamic adsorption of heavy metals onto spent coffee ground (SCG) were studied. The equilibrium adsorption of Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+in a batch system was modeled by an ion-exchange model (IEM) based on an ion-exchange of heavy metals with calcium and protons bonded to active sites on SCG surface. The maximum amount of adsorbed metal ions obtained using the IEM was 0.12, 0.21, and 0.32 mmol/g of Cd2+, Cu2+, and Pb2+, respectively. Regeneration of SCG was evaluated using citric acid, calcium chloride, and nitric acid. The observed trend of desorption efficiency through four adsorption-desorption cycles was HNO3> CaCl2> C6H8O7. The effect of process variables such as flow rate and bed height during the dynamic adsorption was evaluated. Moreover, the applicability of a mass transfer model based on external mass transfer resistance, axial dispersion, and ion-exchange isotherm was evaluated, and the results were in good agreement with the experimental data for the adsorption in SCG packed column. The sensitivity analysis of the model parameters showed that axial dispersion coefficient is the most significant parameter in the dynamic simulation. The results obtained showed the potential of SCG as a low-cost material for wastewater metal removal in continuous systems.

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