Assessment of the Adsorption Potential of Synthesized Chitosan-Pyrrole-2-Carboxaldehyde Schiff Base for Cr²⁺ and Pb²⁺ Ions from Dumpsite Leachate

Abstract

Complexation and adsorption have shown to be reliable and economical alternative to removing pollutants such as heavy metals from wastewater in order to eliminate or reduce the hazards associated with them. Adsorption by naturally occurring materials is one of the most effective and low-cost methods of doing this. In this study, the removal efficiency (%) of chromium (II) ion, Cr2+and lead (II) ion, Pb2+ by chitosan-pyrrole-2-carboxaldehyde Schiff base (CPCSB) from wastewater was investigated through batch experiment studies. The results of this study showed that the removal efficiency of Cr2+ ion and Pb2+ ion from wastewater by the Schiff base increases with an increase in the adsorbent contact time, and adsorbent dosage until equilibrium is reached. The optimum conditions for maximum adsorption were: time 100 and 80 mins for Cr2+ and Pb2+ ions respectively with 96.69% and 97.95%, pH for Cr2+ ion was 8 with a removal efficiency of 77.45% while for Pb2+ ion, the pH was 6 with a removal efficiency of 97.85%. The highest removal efficiency of 97.43% and 95.79% for Cr2+ and Pb2+ ions respectively was recorded when the dosage was 2.0 g. The results obtained from this study indicated that chitosan-pyrrole Schiff base is a good adsorbent of these heavy metals. To interpret the results, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were applied.