Uptake of heavy metals from aqueous media onto the blend of sodium alginate and kernel powder

Heavy metal poisoning is widely recognized as a serious problem for both the environment and human health. The damage caused by these metals has raised concerns for global public health and ecology, prompting a significant focus on developing effective materials for heavy metal removal. This study presents a method for creating an environmentally friendly adsorbent for removing metal ions from aqueous solutions, using sodium alginate/mango seed kernel blend beads (SA/MSK). The goal was to develop a low-cost, beneficial adsorbent by utilizing mango seed kernel (MSK), an agricultural waste product, as a resource to manufacture material for the removal of specific heavy metals. Adsorption, one of the most promising techniques, was employed in this work. Batch studies were conducted to examine the effects of pH, dosage, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent particle size, and contact time on the percentage removal of Cd²⁺, Cu²⁺, and Pb²⁺ ions. FTIR, SEM, and XRD analyses demonstrated that carboxyl and hydroxyl functional groups were involved in the sorption of Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb²⁺ ions. The efficacy of SA/MSK beads in eliminating metal ions from effluent samples showed that the beads were able to remove all three metal ions to varying degrees. Physicochemical and spectroscopic methods revealed that the binding sites involved were ether, carboxyl, hydroxyl, and amine groups. These findings suggest that SA/MSK beads hold great potential for applications in heavy metal removal and could become a sustainable method for removing metal ions from effluent.