Determinación de la eficiencia de bioadsorción de cromo hexavalente a partir de la biomasa de retamo espinoso (Ulex europaeus), mejorado con cloruro férrico

Abstract

Hexavalent chromium is a heavy metal that is highly toxic, as it has the capacity to bioaccumulate in the soil and in various plant species, which are a food source for the population, causing multiple health problems such as cancer, dermatitis, asthma, among others. This is why bioadsorption emerges as an alternative to the operating costs of conventional technologies such as reverse osmosis. In addition, this technique allows giving a utility to plant species that are cataloged as invasive species, such as the case of the thorny broom (Ulex europaeus), which due to its rapid spread and adaptation to the tropical climate has caused the displacement of species, the reduction of biodiversity, among other environmental problems. Therefore, in the present study it was determined that the maximum adsorption capacity of Cr(VI) on hawthorn broom is 303,0303 mg/g, making use of untreated and seedless biomass, at pH 2, a contact time of 2 hours, a dose of 0,3 g of adsorbent. Additionally, the highest adsorption percentage was 52,983% at a concentration of 138 mg/L, under the aforementioned conditions. The best fitting kinetic model was the pseudo-second order model, and the isotherm representing the adsorption process was the Langmuir isotherm. Finally, in the continuous test, a removal rate of 99,114% was reached 60 minutes after the start of the test, and the biomass saturation point was reached after treating a volume of 28 mL of biomass.