REMOVAL OF CHROMIUM (VI) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION USING MORINGA OLEIFERA PODS AS BIOSORBENT

Moringa oleifera pod was prepared as abiosorbent to remove Chromium (VI)metal in an aqueous solution. The Moringa oleifera pod powder was characterized with FT-IR (Fourier transform Infrared) which shows the presence of nitro, carbonyl, and hydroxyl groups. The effects of varying operational parameters like pH, contact time, initial ion concentration, temperature, and adsorbent dosage were studied. The maximum bio-sorption capacity of the biosorbent was observed at pH 2 with 98.72%. The adsorption isotherm was studied at 30 0 C and at a constant initial concentration of the Chromium (VI) metal. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms were adopted to analyse the equilibrium data obtained. The adsorption of Chromium(VI) metal unto Moringa oliefera podbiosorbent conforms to both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with the R 2 value of 0.9873 and 0.9731 respectively. This study suggests that Moringa oleifera pod has a potential as a good biosorbent for the removal of Cr (VI) from wastewater.