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Removal of lead (pb2+) from water using keratin fibers from human hair

Lawal, Abiola Samuel
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1989-3983
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1627050685501336

Abstract Details

2021, Master of Environmental Science, Miami University, Environmental Sciences.
Growing industrial activities coupled with inability to effectuate common methods of water treatment has made lead contamination a recurring problem in low- and middle-income countries (LIMCs). Heavy metal contamination of water can significantly impact the health and well-being of populations of people affected by such pollution. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of keratin fibers from human hair as cost-effective, globally-available and sustainable adsorbents to remove lead (Pb2+) ions from water. For this aim, untreated and chemically treated hair were assessed as adsorbents to remove Pb2+ from water. Keratin adsorption capacities for Pb2+ was tested as a function of hair type, extent of chemical treatment, and contact time. Keratin was extracted from hair of persons from three ethnic groups: African (AF), Caucasian (NAM) and Asian (AS) in order to compare adsorption properties of the keratin fibers from three different types of human hair. Batch tests were conducted, and Pb2+ was used as a representative heavy metal for comparing the keratin adsorbents. Pb2+ was measured using Atomic Adsorption spectroscopy (AAS), and the resulting experimental Pb2+ adsorption isotherm data were best fit to the Langmuir isotherm model. While the results obtained in this study suggest that adsorption capacities of keratin from human hair may be affected by the type of hair, the small sample size used in this study did not provide conclusive evidence. For all three hair samples, treated and untreated hair was able to adsorb Pb2+ from water, and the uptake of Pb2+ was significantly affected by the extent of chemical treatment. The highest uptake of Pb2+ by keratin from human hair was with partially treated AS hair. The evaluation of adsorption kinetics indicates that Pb2+ adsorption on keratin follows a pseudo second order kinetics model. From this study, we concluded that human hair keratin can be used as an affordable, sustainable, and globally-available adsorbent to remove Pb2+ from water.
Catherine Almquist (Advisor)
Jonathan Levy (Committee Member)
Justin Saul (Committee Member)
73 p.
Environmental Science
Lead; contaminated water; keratin

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Lawal, A. S. (2021). Removal of lead (pb2+) from water using keratin fibers from human hair [Master's thesis, Miami University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1627050685501336

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Lawal, Abiola. Removal of lead (pb2+) from water using keratin fibers from human hair. 2021. Miami University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1627050685501336.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Lawal, Abiola. "Removal of lead (pb2+) from water using keratin fibers from human hair." Master's thesis, Miami University, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1627050685501336

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

miami1627050685501336
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© 2021, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Removal of lead (pb2+) from water using keratin fibers from human hair by Abiola Samuel Lawal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by Miami University and OhioLINK.