The raw sawdust of Eucalyptusglobulus Labill was studied as an alternative of residual biomaterial for the adsorption of lead (II) in wastewater, evaluating the effect of pH (3, 4, 5, and 6) in a batch system. From the characterization of the biomaterial, it was found that the biomass has a low ash content, and from the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) microphotographs that it presents a porous morphology with diverse texture and presence of fiber fragments, which describe the heterogeneity of the material. The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum showed the presence of functional groups of NH_R, OH, COOH, and hydrocarbons, which are part of the structure of lignin, cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin. From the adsorption experiments, it was obtained that the optimal value of pH 6, reaching a removal percentage of 96% and an adsorption capacity of 4.80 mg/g. The model that better adjusted the kinetics results was the pseudo-second-order model and the Langmuir and Freundlich isothermal models described the adsorption equilibrium; it was found that in the system prevails chemisorption, supported in ion exchange by Pb (II) and the biomass’ functional groups. From the results, eucalyptus sawdust is suggested as a low-cost adsorbent for Pb (II) bioadsorption present in solution.

Se investigó la remoción de plomo de soluciones acuosas por biomasa de los cladodios de la tuna (BCT), una especie abundante en la sierra peruana. Las propiedades físicas y químicas de la BCT se determinaron por técnicas de FTIR y SEM/EDX. El análisis FTIR confirmó la presencia de grupos –OH, CO–C, C=O y –NH2, los cuales interactuarían con el metal. La micrografía SEM reveló que la morfología superficial de la BCT tiene porosidad adecuada para la biosorción. En un sistema discontinuo se obtuvo la más alta capacidad de biosorción (qe) con una relación masa BCT/volumen de 4 g/L, pH 4,5 y tiempo de contacto de 1 h. La biosorción siguió un modelo cinético de pseudo-segundo orden y el proceso de difusión intraparticular fue el factor principal de control de la velocidad. Los datos en el equilibrio fueron correlacionados con cinco modelos (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, D-R y Redlich-Peterson) y se ajustaron mejor al modelo de Langmuir, lo que indica que el proceso se realiza en centros activos energéticamente homogéneos, el valor de qe máxima fue 50,25 mg/g. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que la BCT puede ser usada como biosorbente eficiente para el tratamiento de aguas contaminadas con Pb (II).

This research work focused on the development of an adsorbent biocomposite material based on polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and cellulose acetate derived from sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) fibre, through cellulose acetylation. The resulting material represents both an accessible and effective alternative for the treatment and remediation of water contaminated with heavy metals, such as Ni (II). The biocomposite was prepared by blending cellulose acetate (CA) with the biopolymer PHB using the solvent-casting method. The resulting biocomposite exhibited a point of zero charge (pHpzc) of 5.6. The material was characterised by FTIR, TGA-DSC, and SEM analyses. The results revealed that the interaction between Ni (II) ions and the biocomposite is favoured by the presence of functional groups, such as –OH, C=O, and N–H, which act as active adsorption sites on the material’s surface, enabling efficient interaction with the metal ions. Adsorption kinetics studies revealed that the biocomposite achieved an optimal adsorption capacity of 5.042 mg/g at pH 6 and an initial Ni (II) concentration of 35 mg/L, corresponding to a removal efficiency of 86.44%. Finally, an analysis of the kinetic and isotherm models indicated that the experimental data best fit the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm.