Abstract
In the conducted research, corncob powder was pretreated with inorganic acids and bases. The consequence of different parameters such as initial metal concentration, pH, and contact time on Zn(II) biosorption from aqueous solution was deliberated. The order of maximum Zn(II) uptake q(max) (mg g(-1)) for different pretreated and raw corncob powder was Ba(OH)(2) (128.9) > H3PO4 (124.07) > NaOH (118.737) > H2SO4 (114.8) > HCl (93.41) > Al(OH)(3) (87.9) > Native (86.74). The percentage of Zn(II) removed on corncob biomass increased with increase in pH reaching a maximum at pH 5.5. Kinetics of Zn(II) biosorption described that Zn(II) sorption rate was high in first 15-30 min and equilibrium was established after 120 min. The maximum adsorption data of native and pretreated biomass was investigated using Langmuir, Freundlich equilibrium, and Pseudo-first and second-order kinetic models. It was accomplished that structural modifications onto corncob powder lead to the formation of novel biomasses with increased sorption efficiency and environmental stability for the abatement of Zn(II).