Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

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Environmental Technology & Innovation

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/eti

Adsorption of Cu(II) by low cost adsorbents and the cost

analysis✩
Meenal Gupta a, *, Harsh Gupta b , D.S. Kharat c
a
Central Pollution Control Board, Subhanpura, Vadodara, Gujarat, 390023, India
b
Environment Department, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Vadodara, Gujarat, India
c
Central Pollution Control Board, East Arjun Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi, India

highlights graphical abstract

• The adsorption is a greatly preferred

method for the removal of heavy met-
als.
• Sugarcane bagasse is abundant and
environment friendly low cost adsor-
bent.
• Modified sugarcane bagasse can be
successfully used to treat the wastew-
ater.
• The cost analysis has shown that ac-
tivated carbon is very costly.

article info a b s t r a c t
Article history: The present research is investigated on the adsorption potential of sugarcane bagasse
Received 20 September 2017 (SG), acid modified sugarcane bagasse (ASG), base modified sugarcane bagasse (BSG) and
Received in revised form 8 November 2017 activated carbon (AC) as adsorbents for the removal of Cu(II) from synthetic effluent and
Accepted 1 February 2018
industrial wastewater in a batch mode process. The surface morphology and surface func-
Available online 6 February 2018
tionality of the adsorbents were identified by using scanning electron microscope (SEM)
and Fourier transforms infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), respectively. The influences of the
Keywords:
Sugarcane bagasse effective parameters including initial Cu(II) ion concentration, pH and adsorbent mass were
Activated carbon optimized by UV–Vis spectroscopy. The Cu(II) removal efficiency from synthetic effluent
Adsorption using AC, SG, ASG and BSG was observed as 98.5%, 88.9%, 96.9% and 94.8%, respectively at

✩ Capsule: It has been shown that the low cost modified sugarcane bagasse can be used in the industries to for the removal of Cu(II) instead of high cost
activated carbon.
*Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: meenalgpt92@gmail.com (M. Gupta), guptah3@indianoil.in (H. Gupta), kharatds@hotmail.com (D.S. Kharat).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2018.02.003
2352-1864/© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
92 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

Heavy metals equilibrium for adsorbent dose 5 g/L, initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L and pH 5. The
Copper Cu(II) removal efficiency using the industrial wastewater was obtained as 83.45%, 62.53%,
81.40% and 71.77% for AC, SG, ASG and BSG, respectively at adsorbent dose 5 g/L, initial
Cu(II) concentration 52.4 mg/L and pH 1.25–1.31. It was determined that the Cu(II) removal
efficiency of ASG from synthetic effluent as well as industrial wastewater is comparable
with that of AC. The cost analysis has shown that AC is very costly as compared to the other
adsorbents used for the studies.
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abbreviations

AC Activated carbon
ASG Acid modified sugarcane bagasse
BSG Base modified sugarcane bagasse
Ce Cu(II) concentration in the synthetic effluent or industrial wastewater at equilibrium (mg/L)
Co Initial Cu(II) concentration in the synthetic effluent or industrial wastewater (mg/g)
Cu(II) Copper ion in the synthetic effluent or industrial wastewater
INR Indian Rupee (currency)
KBr Potassium bromide
m Dose of adsorbent (g)
qe Cu(II) adsorption capacity of adsorbent at equilibrium (mg/g)
SG Sugarcane bagasse
USEPA United States Environmental Protection Authority
V Volume of synthetic effluent or industrial wastewater (L)
WHO World Health Organization

1. Introduction

The tremendous increase in the usage of heavy metals over the past few decades has inevitably resulted in increased
flux of metallic substances in the aquatic environment. While industrial activities are the main source of heavy metals, the
acid rain, ore mining, agriculture, forest fire and volcanic activity also contribute to the metal content of water (Verma and
Dwivedi, 2013; Dil et al., 2017b). Human beings are exposed to the heavy metals mainly through water consumption and
a few of the metals can bioaccumulate in the body inducing cancer and other risks (Chowdhury et al., 2016). Copper(II) is
among the widespread heavy metal contaminants of the water resources. Cu(II) can cause haemolysis, cirrhosis, chronic
anaemia, hepatotoxic and the nephro toxic effects such as vomiting, cramps, convulsions or even death (Lakherwal, 2014;
Salem et al., 2000; Shrivastava, 2009). Huang et al. (2007) surveyed agriculture soil in Yangzhong (China) and observed
increasing trends in the concentration of As, Cu, Pb and Zn over the years due to the anthropogenic activity. Mohod and
Dhote (2013) in their literature review reported that the level of heavy metals in many drinking water samples was more
than the maximum admissible and desirable limits prescribed by WHO and USEPA, and the water was unsuitable for drinking
purposes. Persistence of heavy metals in the environment will continue to pose a threat to the human health unless corrective
actions are taken for containment of the heavy metals to a safe level.
The conventional treatment methods like ion exchange, adsorption, chemical precipitation, membrane separation,
coagulation–flocculation and electrochemical are in use for the removal of heavy metals (Fu and Wang, 2011). Of these,
adsorption is a greatly preferred method due to its high efficiency, simplicity in design and sludge free operation. Activated
carbon is the most widely used adsorbent in the adsorption process but it is expensive. There is need to explore the adsorption
potential of the low cost (Hegazi, 2013; Nguyen et al., 2013; Omidi et al., 2017; Tripathi and Rawat Ranjan, 2015; Vieira et al.,
2012). One of the agriculture wastes that received attention in the present study is the sugarcane bagasse, which is available
to the tune of about 100 million tonnes per annum in India i.e. one-third of the quantity of sugarcane crushed (Raghuvanshi
et al., 2004). It is abundant, readily available at low cost and environment friendly material.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Preparation of adsorbents

The adsorbents used for the experiments were sugarcane bagasse (SG), acid modified sugarcane bagasse (ASG), base
modified sugarcane bagasse (BSG) and the commercially available activated carbon (AC).
The sugarcane bagasse collected from the local market was cut into pieces and washed several times with tap water,
and then with the distilled water to remove the external dirt. The wet bagasse was solar dried to remove the water and
 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101 93

subsequently, dried in oven at 60 ◦ C for 48 h. The dried bagasse was ground and sieved to get particle size 150 to 300 µm.
The adsorbent so prepared was termed as SG. A portion of SG was modified with citric acid, for which SG was soaked in 0.1 M
citric acid solution for 24 h and then soaked in distilled water for 4 h to remove the free citric acid followed by drying in an
oven at 60 ◦ C for 48 h. BSG was modified with sodium hydroxide by soaking SG in 0.1 M NaOH solution for 24 h followed
by soaking in distilled water and repeated washing till the wash water became almost colourless. BSG was then dried in an
oven at 60 ◦ C for 48 h for experimental use. AC was directly purchased from the market.

2.2. Characterization of adsorbents

The functional groups of the SG, ASG and BSG, before and after adsorption, were determined using the Fourier Transform
Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR, Bruker) at wavenumber region 400–4000 cm−1 . The sample disk was prepared by mixing KBr
powder with adsorbent and compressing into pellet before it was analysed. The surface morphology of adsorbents was
studied using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM, Hitachi series).

2.3. Adsorbate solution

The stock solution of Copper (1000 mg/L) was prepared by dissolving 3.929 g of copper sulphate (CuSO4 · 5H2 O) in 1 L of
distilled water and used for the experiments with required dilutions. The real (industrial) wastewater sample was collected
from the discharge point of a chemical industry in Vapi, Gujarat (India) that manufactures copper sulphate and iron sulphate.
The sample was carefully bottled in a plastic container and transported to the laboratory for analysis.

2.4. Adsorption Studies

Batch experiments were conducted to determine the equilibrium conditions for the removal of Cu(II) using SG, ASG, BSG
and AC as adsorbents. The parameters studied include contact time (0–180 min), initial Cu(II) concentration (10–30 mg/L),
pH (3–9) and the adsorbent dosage (1–10 g/L). All experiments were carried out at room temperature. A known quantity of
the adsorbent and 50 mL of Cu(II) solution of known concentration was taken in 250 mL flasks. The contents of the flasks
were agitated at 150–160 rpm with a water bath shaker (Spectralab). The solution pH was adjusted using either 0.1 M NaOH
or 0.1 M HCl. The samples were drawn as per the experiment required, and filtered first with coarse filter paper and then
with the Whatman No. 42 filter paper. The concentration of Cu(II) in the filtrate was analysed by UV–Vis Spectrophotometer
(Varian) using the Cuprethol method for Cu(II). The Cu(II) removal efficiency and the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent
were calculated using the following equations:
(Co − Ce)
Cu (II) removal efficiency (%) = 100 (1)
Co
(Co − Ce)
Adsorption capacity , qe (mg/g) = V (2)
m
where, Co-initial Cu(II) concentration in the solution (mg/L), Ce-concentration of Cu(II) in the solution at equilibrium (mg/L),
qe -Cu(II) adsorption capacity at equilibrium (mg/g), m-dose of the adsorbent (g) and V-volume of the solution (L).

3. Results and discussions

3.1. Characterization of the adsorbents

The FTIR spectra of SG, ASG and BSG, before and after the Cu(II) ion adsorption, are shown in Fig. 1. These spectra were
obtained from scanning in the wavenumber region 400–4000 cm−1 . The important FTIR frequencies and the corresponding
assignments are summarized in Table 1. The most common functional groups identified are: –OH, –CH, –C=O, –COO and
–C–O. The strong and broad band was observed at 3416 cm−1 in SG, 3409 cm−1 in ASG and 3424 cm−1 in BSG represent
the O–H stretching vibrations (hydroxyl groups) due to the presence of pectin, hemi cellulose, cellulose, lignin and absorbed
water. The peak around 2900 cm−1 in the three adsorbents represents the C–H stretching vibrations due to the presence of
methoxy, methyl and methylene groups. The peak around 1730 cm−1 is due to stretching vibration of bond due to carboxylate
groups (–COO− ) and may be assigned to salts or esters present in ASG adsorbent. The peaks around 1600 cm−1 are due to
asymmetric stretching vibrations of C=O in carboxyl groups (–COOH) that is present in SG and BSG (Khan et al., 2013). The
peak around 1040 cm−1 represents the C–O stretching vibrations of ethers and alcohols. The FTIR spectrums of the adsorbents
show that some peaks were shifted or disappeared and some peaks have the high intensity curve after the adsorption. The
shift may be attributed to the changes in counter ions associated with carboxylate and hydroxylate anions, suggesting that
acidic groups such as carboxyl and hydroxyl are the predominant contributors in the metal ion adsorption on ASG and BSG
in the adsorption process (Ashkenazy et al., 1997; Mazaheri et al., 2017).
The SEM images shown in Fig. 2 clearly reveal the surface texture and morphology of the adsorbent at 500× magnification.
It can be noticed that SG had a smooth and dense surface texture. The surface morphology of ASG and BSG is different from
that of SG. Chemically modified sugarcane bagasse had more irregular and porous structure than that of without treatment,
94 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

Fig. 1. FTIR spectra before and after adsorption of Cu(II) on the activated adsorbents (a) SG, (b) ASG and (c) BSG.

and therefore more specific surface area. ASG had irregular, porous and different ring shape surface texture that could
facilitate higher uptake of the adsorbate. BSG had highly porous surface structure. The porous structure favours the diffusion
 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101 95

Table 1
FTIR assignment for different adsorbents.
SG ASG BSG
Region Region after Assignment Region Region after Assignment Region Region after Assignment
before adsorption before adsorption before adsorption
adsorption (cm−1 ) adsorption (cm−1 ) adsorption (cm−1 )
(cm−1 ) (cm−1 ) (cm−1 )
3416 3416 –OH 3409 3409 –OH 3424 3424 –OH
stretching stretching stretching
2915 2915 –CH 2922 2922 –CH 2929 2929 –CH
stretching stretching stretching
1631 1631 –COOH 1734 1734 –COO− 1612 1612 –COOH
Carboxyl Carboxylate Carboxylic
Groups groups groups
1048 1048 –C–O 1048 1048 –C–O 1052 1052 –C–O
stretching stretching stretching

of metal ions from the exterior to the interior of the adsorbent and provides a higher specific surface area, and more ligands
for metal ion adsorption.

3.2. Batch equilibrium studies

3.2.1. Effect of contact time

The experiments were conducted to determine the contact time required to reach the equilibrium between solid phase
(adsorbent) and the liquid phase (effluent) at adsorbent dose 5 g/L, pH 5.5 and initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L. The results
obtained for SG, ASG, BSG and AC are shown in Fig. 3. The results show that after 15 min, the removal efficiency of Cu(II)
ion using AC, SG, ASG and BSG were 84.4%, 46.8%, 71.4% and 68.8%, respectively. The adsorption of Cu(II) increases with the
contact time up to 60 min and then it becomes almost constant. The Cu(II) removal efficiency after 60 min was found as 98%,
85.7%, 96.5% and 91.8% for AC, SG, ASG and BSG, respectively. The amount of Cu(II) ion adsorbed at the equilibrium reflects
the maximum adsorption capacity of the adsorbent under a particular condition (Banerjee et al., 2012). As the adsorption of
Cu(II) becomes almost constant at the contact time of 60 min and above for all the adsorbents, the other batch experiments
were conducted for a contact time of 60 min.

3.2.2. Effect of adsorbent dose

The adsorption potential of the adsorbents was studied by changing the dose of the adsorbents while keeping the other
parameters constant i.e. initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L, pH 5.5 and constant time 60 min. The results are given in Fig. 4.
The percentage removal of Cu(II) increased with the increase in the adsorbent dose up to 5 g/L. This may be due to the
availability of more sites with an increase in the adsorbent dose (Dubey and Shiwani, 2012; Ghorbani et al., 2012). It can also
be noted that further increment in the adsorbent dose did not cause a significant improvement in adsorption. This seems to
be due to the saturation of almost all sites of the adsorbent and equilibrium is reached between the ions to the adsorption
sites and those remaining unadsorbed in the solution (Dubey and Shiwani, 2012; Gutha et al., 2011). The maximum removal
of Cu(II) was found to be 98%, 85.7%, 96.5% and 91.8% for AC, SG, ASG and BSG, respectively at the adsorbent dosage of 5 g/L.

3.2.3. Effect of initial Cu(II) concentration

The experiments were carried out at adsorbent dose 5 g/L, pH 5.5, contact time 60 min and at the different initial Cu(II)
concentrations i.e 10 to 30 mg/L. The results are shown in Fig. 5. It was observed that as the initial Cu(II) concentration
increases, the percent removal of Cu(II) decreases. The maximum removal of Cu(II) was found to be at the initial Cu(II)
concentration of 10 mg/L. At higher concentrations, more Cu(II) ions are left unadsorbed due to the saturation of available
adsorption sites. Further, the ratio of initial number Cu(II) ions to the adsorption sites available is higher at the higher
concentration that led to the lower adsorption efficiency (Banerjee et al., 2012; Dil et al., 2017a; Kumar et al., 2011).

3.2.4. Effect of solution pH

The solution pH influences the surface charge of the adsorbent, degree of ionization and the species of adsorbate. Hence,
pH of the aqueous solution is an essential controlling parameter in the heavy metal adsorption (Huang et al., 2012). The
influence of solution pH on the Cu(II) adsorption by AC, SG, ASG and BSG was investigated by varying pH 3 to 9 with adsorbent
dose 5 g/L, initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L and contact time 60 min as shown in Fig. 6.
The maximum percentage removal of Cu(II) was found at pH 5 for most of the adsorbents. At lower pH levels, the
adsorption efficiency was minimum as compared to a higher pH level. In the lower range of pH, the surface of the adsorbents
was protonated with excessive H+ , making the sites of the adsorbent positively charged with strong electrostatic repulsion
for copper cations (Kanawade and Gaikwad, 2011; Sharifpour et al., 2018). At higher pH levels (up to pH 5), the surface sites
of the adsorbents were deprotonated that promote the electrostatic attraction inducing higher uptake of Cu(II) ion species.
At much higher pH (above pH 5), the trend of hydrolysis for copper ion takes place and form the colloidal particles that are
difficult to be adsorbed on the adsorbents causing lower percentage removal of Cu(II) (Huang et al., 2012).
96 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

Fig. 2. SEM analyses of adsorbent particles at 500× magnification (a) SG, (b) ASG and (c) BSG.

3.2.5. Optimum conditions

A series of batch experiments was conducted to determine optimum conditions for the removal of Cu(II) by AC, SG,
ASG and BSG with varying parameters i.e. contact time 0–180 min, initial Cu(II) concentration 10–30 mg/L, pH 3–9 and the
adsorbent dosage 1–10 g/L. The optimum conditions arrived at after detailed equilibrium studies are: contact time 60 min,
pH 5, adsorbent dose 5 g/L and initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L. The results of studies at the optimum condition are
shown in Fig. 7. The percentage removal of Cu(II) from synthetic effluent at the optimum conditions was found as 98.5%,
88.9%, 96.9% and 94.8% for AC, SG, ASG and BSG, respectively. It may be noted that ASG has almost the same Cu(II) removal
efficiency as the commercially available AC has.
 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101 97

Fig. 3. Variation in removal efficiency of Cu(II) with contact time (10 mg/L initial concentration, 5 g/L, 5.5 pH).

Fig. 4. Variation in removal efficiency of Cu(II) with adsorbent dose (10 mg/L initial concentration, 5.5 pH, 60 min).

Fig. 5. Variation in removal efficiency of Cu(II) with initial concentration (5 g/L, 5.5 pH, 60 min).
98 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

Fig. 6. Variation in removal efficiency of Cu(II) with pH (10 mg/L initial concentration 10 mg/L, 5 g/L, 60 min).

Fig. 7. Comparison of different adsorbents for Cu(II) removal in synthetic wastewater (10 mg/L initial concentration, 5 g/L, 5 pH, 60 min).

3.2.6. Adsorption studies using industrial wastewater

The adsorption studies using the industrial wastewater was conducted at the optimum conditions that were found from
the batch adsorption studies with the synthetic effluent i.e. pH 5, contact time 60 min and the adsorbent dose 5 g/L. Table 2
indicate the initial characteristics of the industrial wastewater. The suitability of the SG, ASG and BSG adsorbents for the
removal of Cu(II) using the industrial wastewater was evaluated through batch adsorption studies. All the three adsorbents
were compared with the activated carbon in terms of Cu(II) removal efficiency from the industrial wastewater.
The Cu(II) concentrations, before and after the adsorption process, are shown in Fig. 8. The percentage removal of Cu(II)
may have affected by the other co-ions in the industrial wastewater like Na+ , Mg+ , Ca+2 , Fe+2 etc. The studies shown the
Cu(II) removal efficiency of 83.45%, 62.53%, 81.40% and 71.77% using AC, SG, ASG and BSG, respectively with the industrial
wastewater as adsorbate.
The batch adsorption studies indicated that Cu(II) removal efficiency of ASG and BSG was higher than that of SG, which
may be mainly due to the more irregular and porous structure of the these chemically modified adsorbents as noticed form
the SEM analysis. It can also be noted that ASG has almost the same Cu(II) removal efficiency as the activated carbon (AC) has
with the synthetic effluent as well as with the industrial effluent. Hence, the ASG may be used like an AC in the industries
for the removal of the heavy metal.

3.2.7. Comparison of present studies with previous studies

The removal of Cu(II) using low-cost adsorbents has been examined in the present work and the obtained results for
copper removal from synthetic wastewater has been compared with previous results as summarized in Table 3. In general,
it can be recognized that capacity of low cost adsorbent increases extremely by using activation methods. Also, the obtained
results for the acid treated sugarcane bagasse (ASG) confirm better adsorption capacity as compared to the other commonly
used low cost adsorbent from the agricultural wastes.
 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101 99

Fig. 8. Comparison of different adsorbents for Cu(II) removal in industrial wastewater (52.4 mg/L initial concentration, 5 g/L, 1.25–1.31 pH, 60 min).

Table 2
Characteristics of the industrial wastewater.
Parameters Initial concentration
pH 1.25–1.31
COD 494.08–505.76 mg/L
Cu (II) 50.6–54.2 mg/L
Fe (II) 0.28–0.49 mg/L
Sodium (Na+ ) 3.93 mg/L
Potassium (K+ ) 0.81 mg/L
Calcium (Ca+2 ) 3.58 mg/L

Table 3
Summary of previous work using low cost adsorbents for removal of Cu(II) and comparison with present work.
Agricultural waste Processing/Activation Optimum condition Cu(II) Removal (%) References
Contact time (min) pH Adsorbent dose (g/L)
Cellulose pulp waste Water washed 180 6 20 80.00 Ulmanu et al. (2002)
Coconut shell ZnCl2 80 6 1 71.26 Bernard et al. (2013)
Watermelon shell Water washed 120 8 1 84.00 Banerjee et al. (2012)
Prosopis juliflora plant HNO3 60 7 10 89.00 Halnor et al. (2013)
Minced banana peel Water washed 20 3 0.2 90.00 Castro et al. (2011)
Sugarcane Bagasse Water washed 60 5 5 88.90 Present Study
Sugarcane Bagasse Citric Acid 60 5 5 96.90 Present Study
Sugarcane Bagasse NaOH 60 5 5 94.80 Present Study

3.2.8. Cost analysis of adsorbents

In the present research, an attempt has been made to analyse the cost of adsorbents such as sugarcane bagasse and
the chemically modified sugarcane bagasse. The cost of each activity involving physical and chemical activation processes,
and the overall cost for the preparation of each adsorbent are given in Table 4. The total cost for the preparation of 1 kg
of adsorbent was estimated as INR 49.28, INR 309.65 and INR 103.40 for SG, ASG and BSG, respectively. The commercially
available activated carbon was purchased at a cost of INR 3650/kg. Based on the adsorption capacity obtained from the batch
studies for all the adsorbents, the cost of each adsorbent was calculated for the removal of 1 g of Cu(II) from the industrial
wastewater stream and presented in Table 5.
It was found that the cost of unmodified sugarcane bagasse (SG) per gram of Cu(II) removal is INR 10.18 that is the
nethermost in comparison to the cost of other adsorbents. It is due to the fact that no chemical activation cost is involved in
the preparation of SG. The costs for removal of 1 g of Cu(II) from the wastewater using ASG and BSG are INR 57.88 and
INR 50.19, respectively. This specifies that the cost associated with these adsorbents is quite less in comparison to the
commercial activated carbon (INR 649.47). From the batch adsorption studies to remove Cu(II) from the synthetic effluent
and industrial wastewater, it can be observed that ASG adsorbent had a Cu(II) removal efficiency, which is almost equivalent
to the AC’s efficiency. From the cost analysis point of view, the cost of ASG is only INR 57.88 that is very less as compared to
the cost of AC i.e. INR 649.47. Hence, ASG can be a better low cost adsorbent to remove Cu(II) from the industrial wastewater
and can be a substitute for AC.
100 M. Gupta et al. / Environmental Technology & Innovation 10 (2018) 91–101

Table 4
Cost for preparing 1 kg of adsorbents.
Materials Unit cost (INR/kg) SG ASG BSG
Amount Cost Amount Cost Amount Cost
used (kg) (INR/kg) used (kg) (INR/kg) used (kg) (INR/kg)
Sugarcane Bagasse 1.8 1 1.8 1 1.8 1 1.8
Citric acid 450 – – 0.526 236.7 – –
NaOH pellets 492 – – – – 0.1 49.2
Cost of grinding 13 1 13 1 13 1 13
Cost of drying 30 1 30 1 30 1 30
Net cost (INR) 44.8 281.5 94
Overhead cost @ 10% of net 4.48 28.15 9.4
cost (INR)
Total cost (INR) 49.28 309.65 103.40

Table 5
Cost of adsorbent for the removal of 1 g of Cu(II) from the industrial wastewater.
Adsorbent Adsorption capacity qe (mg/g) Cost of adsorbent (INR/kg) Cost of adsorbent for removal of 1g of Cu(II) (INR)
AC 5.62 3650 649.47
SG 4.84 49.28 10.18
ASG 5.35 309.65 57.88
BSG 2.06 103.40 50.19

3.2.9. Future scope of study

In order to improve the adsorption capacities of studied low cost adsorbents, further pre-treatment experiments must be
carried out to increase the physicochemical properties such as specific surface area, pore volume and active sites. Moreover,
to make adsorption method more environment friendly and economical, regeneration of adsorbent is very important aspect.
Many times, it is also desirable to recover the solute from adsorbent. Thus, the recovery of adsorbate and subsequent
regeneration and reuse of adsorbent are important attributes of this process from economy and environmental point of
view.

4. Conclusion

The low-cost adsorbents prepared from the locally accessible sugarcane bagasse and the sugarcane bagasse modified
with citric acid or sodium hydroxide, can be successfully used to treat the industrial wastewater. The optimum adsorption
conditions obtained from the batch equilibrium analyses with synthetic wastewater are: contact time 60 min, adsorbent dose
5 g/L, initial Cu(II) concentration 10 mg/L and the solution pH 5. The maximum removal efficiency for Cu(II) using AC, SG, ASG
and BSG was found as 98.5%, 88.9%, 96.9% and 94.8%, respectively at the optimum conditions. The studied with the industrial
wastewater indicated the percentage removal of Cu(II) as 83.45%, 62.53%, 81.40% and 71.77% using AC, SG, ASG and BSG,
respectively. It was noticed that the Cu(II) removal efficiency of ASG and BSG was higher than that of SG. The Cu(II) removal
efficiency of acid treated sugarcane bagasse (ASG) is almost the same as that of activated carbon (AC). The cost analysis
revealed that the cost of acid modified sugarcane bagasse for the removal of 1 g of Cu(II) from the industrial wastewater is
only INR 57.51 that is very less as compared to the cost of the commercial activated carbon i.e. INR 649.47. Hence, the acid
modified sugarcane bagasse can be a better low cost adsorbent to remove Cu(II) from the industrial wastewater and can be
a substitute for the costly activated carbon.

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