Original scientific paper

Application of biochar derived from sour cherry pit and kombucha scoby for the removal of lead (II) ions from wastewater

Authors

• • Milan Milivojević
  • Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Anja Antanasković
  • Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Kristina Pavićević
  • Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Aleksandra Popović
  • Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Mladen Bugarčić
  • Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Katarina Trivunac
  • Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Vladimir Adamović
  • Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
• • Vladan Živković
  • Elixir Prahovo, 19330 Prahovo, Serbia
• • Zorica Lopičić
  • Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia

Abstract

Heavy metals are persistent environmental contaminants that pose severe risks to both ecosystems and human health mainly due to their high toxicity and bioaccumulation. These pollutants originate from natural processes like volcanic activity and human activities such as mining and industrial operations. Their non-biodegradable nature leads to bioaccumulation in the food chain, resulting in elevated concentrations in humans. In order to solve the problems connected to heavy metal presence in the natural environment and wastewaters in particular, special attention is focused on biosorbents, which are usually cheaper (i.e. compared to active carbon), but still highly efficient. For this purpose, different biological materials such as microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, algae), agricultural by-products, etc., with high metal-binding capacities, are increasingly investigated as particularly effective in treating diluted effluents. In this work, the emphasis is put on investigating the application of biochar resulted in the pyrolysis of biowaste cherry pits and kombucha SCOBY in the removal of heavy metals, specifically lead from wastewaters. In this investigation, the adsorption capacity and efficacy of those two adsorbents and their adsorption kinetics were examined using pseudo-first- and pseudo-second-order kinetic models, and the Weber-Morris diffusion model. It was also monitored whether the mech-anism of mixing (macromixing using a magnetic stirrer and micro mixing using an ultrasonic bath) has effects on the kinetics of the adsorption process. The selected method of analysis, regarding the nature of the analyte, was the atomic absorption spectroscopy.

Keywords: Biosorbent, pyrolysis, kombucha SCOBY, ultrasonic mixing, kinetic study, lead removal.

How to Cite: Milivojević, M. , Antanasković, A. , Pavićević, K. , Popović, A. , Bugarčić, M. , Trivunac, K. , Adamović, V. , Živković, V. & Lopičić, Z. (2024) “Application of biochar derived from sour cherry pit and kombucha scoby for the removal of lead (II) ions from wastewater”, Journal of Engineering & Processing Management. 16(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.61458/jepm.2024.208