Use of Salvinia biloba Raddi biomass in the remediation of solutions contaminated by nanoparticles and silver ions.

Abstract

The contamination of water resources by nanoparticles and metallic ions is a growing problem in the world, considering the increased use of these materials in various human activities. This study evaluated the use of biomass from the aquatic macrophyte Salvinia biloba as a biosorbent for nanoparticles (Ag0NPs) and silver ions (Ag+) in aqueous solution, for environmental remediation purposes. The adsorption system was of the batch reactor type, varying the adsorbate concentration between 0.5 and 8.0 mg L-1 and the contact time between 5 and 1440 minutes. The mechanism of contaminant removal from the solution was analyzed using kinetic and isothermal models. Adsorption equilibrium occurred within 60 minutes. The removal efficiency reached up to 62.0% for the Ag0NPs. The equilibrium data showed greater correlation with the pseudo-first order kinetic model and with the Freundlich model for the Ag0NPs isotherm and Sips for the Ag+ isotherm. Biomass has surface groups of great relevance for the metal adsorption process. The results indicated a heterogeneous adsorption process with a predominance of surface interactions and favorable adsorption for both adsorbates. The study show that S. biloba biomass can be used as a biosorbent for the removal of Ag0NPs e Ag+ in the solution, emphasizing its potential use in the remediation of contaminated water.