Crab shell for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution

• Published in: Water research (Oxford) Vol. 35; no. 15; pp. 3551 - 3556
• Main Authors: An, H.K, Park, B.Y, Kim, D.S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2001; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Adsorption; Animals; Applied sciences; biosorbents; Carbon - chemistry; cation exchange resin; Conservation of Natural Resources; crab shell; Crustacea; Decapoda; Exact sciences and technology; granular activated carbon; heavy metal; Industrial wastewaters; Ion Exchange Resins; Metals, Heavy - chemistry; Pollution; powdered activated carbon; Wastewaters; Water Pollutants - analysis; Water Pollution - prevention & control; Water treatment and pollution; zeolite; Zeolites - chemistry; cation exchange resin; zeolite; biosorbents; granular activated carbon; crab shell; heavy metal; powdered activated carbon; Cationic resin; Brachyura; Bioadsorbents; Zeolite; Experimental study; Heavy metal; Crab; Crustacea; Adsorption; Industrial waste water; Arthropoda; Activated carbon; Shell(anatomy); Physicochemical purification; Decapoda; Invertebrata; Waste water purification; Animal waste; Comparative study
• ISSN: 0043-1354; 1879-2448
• DOI: 10.1016/S0043-1354(01)00099-9

The ability of crab shell to remove heavy metals from aqueous solution was evaluated by comparing with that of several sorbents (cation exchange resin, zeolite, granular activated carbon, powdered activated carbon). All experiments were conducted using several heavy metal ion solutions (Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr). The orders of heavy metal removal capacity and initial heavy metal removal rate were found as crab shell>cation exchange resin>zeolite>powdered activated carbon≥granular activated carbon. Therefore, crab shell is satisfactory as a good biosorbent for the heavy metal removal. The study indicates that the removal of these heavy metals is selective, with Pb and Cr being removed in preference to Cd and Cu. The sorption equilibrium of heavy metal ions on sorbents was modeled on the applications of Langmuir and Freundlich.