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Industrial Chemistry | ISSN: 2469-9764 | Volume 4
17
th
International Conference on
May 21-22, 2018 | New York, USA
Industrial Chemistry and Water Treatment
Ind Chem 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2469-9764-C1-009
Passive biosorption of heavy metal ions to plant-derived materials: Investigations of responsible
chemical interactions
Gary D Rayson
New Mexico State University, USA
W
aste water remediation using biosorption of toxic heavy metal ions by plant materials provides many desirable
characteristics. Selective removal of heavy metal ion pollutants in the presence of benign metal ions offers significant
advantage for biogenic sorbents relative to commercially synthesized materials. Unfortunately, implementation of these
materials for waste water treatment has been limited by their inherent chemical complexity. Gain an understanding of the
responsible fundamental chemical interactions has been the focus of our research for several years. We initially selected
for these studies, materials derived from the plant Datura innoxia. Because of the chemical complexity of this material, the
application of multiple, orthogonal probes were required to study metal ion biosorption to these materials. We have utilized
an arsenal of techniques involving luminescence spectroscopy with extraction of thermodynamic parameters governing these
interactions. Carboxylate moieties were initially identified as primarily responsible for metal ions sorption. These chemical
interactions involved both formation of surface complexes and the involvement of electrostatic attraction to the negatively
charge biomaterial. In later work, these studies were expanded to include variations in tissue types from both the same and
different plant species. The impact of these findings on the potential of biosorbents for contaminated water treatment will be
discussed.