Synergistic effect of pistachio shell powder and nano-zerovalent copper for chromium remediation from aqueous...

Pistachio shell powder supported nano-zerovalent copper (ZVC@PS) material prepared by borohydride reduction was characterized using SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA/DTA, BET, and XPS. SEM, XRD, and XPS revealed the nano-zerovalent copper to consist of a core-shell structure with CuO shell and Cu(0) core with a particle size of 40-100 nm and spherical morphology aggregated on PS biomass. ZVC@PS was found to contain 39% (w/w %) Cu onto the pistachio shell biomass. Batch sorption of Cr(VI) from the aqueous using ZVC@PS was studied and was optimized for dose (0.1-0.5 g/L), initial Cr(VI) concentration(1-20 mg/L), and pH (2-12). Optimized conditions were 0.1 g/L doses of sorbent and pH=3 for Cr(VI) adsorption. Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models fitted well to the adsorption behavior of ZVC@PS for Cr(VI) with a pseudo-second-order kinetic behavior. ZVC@PS (0.1g/L) exhibits q_max for Cr(VI) removal up to 110.9 mg/g. XPS and other spectroscopic evidence suggest the adsorption of Cr(VI) by pistachio shell powder, coupled with reductive conversion of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) by ZVC particles to produce a synergistic effect for the efficient remediation of Cr(VI) from aqueous medium.