An experimental study of sunflower seed husk and zeolite as adsorbents of Ni(II) ion from industrial wastewater

Due to the structural similarities, sunflower seed husk (SSH), an agricultural, low-cost, and eco-friendly waste, is employed interchangeably with zeolite to extract Ni (II) ions from model and real industrial wastewater in this work. Batch experiment adsorption was carried out to investigate the possibility of Ni (II) ion removal by adsorbents. Zeolite powder and SSH were used in three different sizes and without any modifications to optimize the effect of adsorbent size. The maximum adsorption rate of 76% for the bulk size of SSH was obtained at pH 6.5, 20 g/L of adsoadsorbent, an initial concentration of ions of 20 mg/L, and 2 h of contact time. Thermodynamic results showed that the process is spontaneous, feasible, and exothermic within the set temperature range (10°C-80 °C). It can be concluded from the results that SSH can be used as a feasible, eco-friendly, and biodegradable organic material for Ni ion adsorption.