Elimination of Hg (II) in Water by Adsorption through Banana

Banana peel is a low-cost resource that can be used in a wide range of chemical and industrial processes. The novelty of this research is the use of dehydrated and sieved banana peel to remove mercury from water. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the capacity of the banana peel as an adsorbent capable of removing mercury from contaminated water. It has been shown to be an efficient, low-cost, and environmentally friendly process because banana peel is an environmental waste. To determine the ability of the banana peel to adsorb mercury, the following variables were considered: Hg concentration in water (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100 ppb), particle size of the banana peel (100, 150, 200, 250 and 300 microns), quantity of banana peel per 125 ml of solution contaminated with Hg (2 and 5 grams), the contact time was (20, 40 and 60 minutes); it was not necessary to modify the pH of the solutions to obtain high % of mercury removal. The minerals and fatty acids present in the banana peel were also analyzed to improve the interpretation of the adsorption results. A higher adsorption capacity of mercury was perceived with a banana peel sieved at 150 microns; the results are consistent with other research works such as Cd (II) adsorption according to Azarpira et al. [1] where absorption is improved by decreasing the particle size of the filter material. The effectiveness of bioadsorption depends on the initial concentration of mercury ions and the filter material, the particle size of the filter material, the contact time between the mercury ions and the filter material and the pH (although in this project it is not this variable has been intervened). This study demonstrates that the banana peel used as an adsorbent is very efficient and inexpensive for removing mercury from wastewater. It became possible to demonstrate that the amount of Hg adsorbed per unit mass of absorbent increases with increasing initial Hg concentration in contaminated water, as in other metals [1]. The results of this study have confirmed the viability of using banana peel as an effective alternative for removing mercury from mercury-contaminated waters. Future studies will help to evaluate the economic use of this bioadsorbent and the identification of the main active elements it possesses in mercury adsorption. This study will allow a deeper understanding of the mercury absorption process and will verify the potential possibilities of methods to improve the adsorption process.