LAUSR

Abstract The use of biomass as low cost and eco-friendly adsorbent has been investigated as alternative to current chemically synthesized media, which are used for the removal of toxic metals from wastewater. The effectiveness of nano-adsorbents obtained from orange (ORN) peels in the adsorption of cerium from simulated water has been studied. The nano-adsorbent were characterized by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, Fourier transform infrared and transmission electron microscopy analyses. Analyses revealed that ORN exhibited narrow particle size distribution (4–50 nm), spherical morphology and enhanced surface area. The functional group found to be responsible for the coordination and removal of the metal ion was mainly the carboxyl group. The adsorption performance was studied as a function of adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, solution pH and temperature. The results were compared with banana peels nano-adsorbent (BPN), which contained similar biomolecules to ORN. In both samples, the adsorption process followed Langmuir isotherm model with the capacity of 45.2 mg g−1 for the ORN and 35.9 mg g−1 for BPN. The higher performance achieved using ORN might be due to the smaller particle size and higher surface area of ORN compared to the BPN. The results obtained indicated that nanostructured agricultural wastes could be potential adsorbents for Ce removal from wastewater.