LAUSR

Abstract This work evaluated the use of Dialium guineense seed waste (DGS) and its sodium hydroxide modified form (NH-DGS) as biosorbent for ciprofloxacin (CPF) from synthetic solution as well as the desorption potentials. Central composite design (CCD) was applied for optimization of the alkaline treated biosorbent by response surface methodology using design expert. Both biosorbents were characterized by FTIR, SEM, EDX, and BET analysis. The CCD showed NaOH concentration of 0.46 M and temperature of 96 °C to be effective for optimized modification of NH-DGS. Optimum removal of CPF was obtained at pH 6.0, contact time 120 min, temperature 300 K, and dosage of 0.1 g. The Freundlich model gave the best fit compared to the other isotherms tested with R2 values >0.97951. NH-DGS exhibited a maximum uptake capacity of 120.34 mg/g higher than some reported adsorbents for CPF. The pseudo-second-order model was suitable in the fitting of the kinetic data. A non-spontaneous process was obtained for CPF biosorption on DGS which became spontaneous after alkaline treatment. Over 84% desorption of CPF was achieved on both biosorbents using 0.3 M HCl which envisaged the use of NH-DGS as an efficient material for treatment of waters contaminated with CPF.