Role of sawdust in the removal of copper(II) from industrial wastes

Sawdust, an inexpensive material has been utilised as an adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) from waste water for their safe disposal. The effects of contact time, pH, concentration, temperature, dose, particle size of the adsorbent and salinity on the removal of Cu(II) have been studied. The equilibrium nature of copper(II) adsorption at different temperature (30–50°C) has been described by the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm and a tentative mechanism has been proposed. The thermodynamic parameters like free energy, entropy and enthalpy changes for the adsorption of Cu(II) have also been computed and discussed. The kinetics and the factors controlling the adsorption process have also been studied.