BIOSORPTION OF Cu (II) METAL IONS BY DRAGON FRUIT SKIN (Hylocereus polyrhizus)

Sahriani Ali (Department of Chemistry FMIPA Hasanuddin University Tamalanrea Makassar)
Nursiah La Nafie (Department of Chemistry FMIPA Hasanuddin University Tamalanrea Makassar)
Paulina Taba (Department of Chemistry FMIPA Hasanuddin University Tamalanrea Makassar)

Indonesia Chimica Acta
Volume 11, No.1: June 2018

Biosorption is an effective method for removal of heavy metals from their solutions. Biosorption of Cu (II) by contact time, pH, and concentration has been investigated. Concentration of Cu (II) ion before and after adsorption was determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The effect of the pH process was studied at pH of 2-7. The result showed that the optimum time for biosorption of Cu (II) ion by biomass dragon fruit was 10 minutes and pH 4 was the optimum pH of biosorption. Langmuir and Freundlich models were used for the adsorption of isotherm. Result showed that biosorption of Cu (II) by dragon fruit peel fit better the Langmuir model than Freundich model with the adsorption capacity (Qo) of 20.401 mg/g biosorbent. The result of FT-IR analysis showed that hydroxyl groups were responsible for the binding of Cu (II) ions.