Removal of Heavy Metals Using Kenaf Fibers

The feasibility of using natural fibers such as Kenaf to remove the heavy metals
as a replacement for costly convectional methods of removing heavy metal ions has
been reviewed. It is well known that the cellulose waste material can be obtained and is
a cheap adsorbent. Some of the advantages of using Kenaf for wastewater treatment
include simple technique, requires little processing, good adsorption capacity, selective
adsorption ofheavy metal ions, low cost, free availability and easy regenerations.
Two types of experiment were conducted. The first experiment was carried out
by varying the concentration of the adsorbent and the solutions of heavy metals whilst
another experiment was conducted by varying the amount ofthe kenaf fibres.
Several runs of both experiments were conducted and the results were analyzed
in order to achieve the primary objective of this project. The results obtained were
analyzed using Atomic Adsorption Spectroscopy method.
Kenaf fibres adsorbed more cadmium compared to nickel for both the individual
solutions and mixed metal solution but the amount adsorbed in the mixed metal solution
was comparably similar where as for individual solution, the adsorption of cadmium
was higher compared to Nickel. Adsorption of metals also depends on the residence
time. The longer the time, the more the metals are adsorbed.