The use of chicken feather as an adsorbent in the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions

With the increase in industrialization and urbanization in the world, domestic and industrial wastes, the variety and amount of which are constantly increasing, are left to nature. These wastes pollute water resources and render them unusable. One of the most important causes of water pollution is industrial wastewater containing heavy metals. Even trace amounts of heavy metals can have toxic effects on living things. In this context, the use of keratin protein fiber, a new biomass source, is a promising technology for the purification of water contaminated with heavy metals. Keratin is a protein with functional groups that are extremely durable and can easily bind to heavy metals, providing support to various living tissues. It is an important component of mammalian hair and hooves, mammalian and reptilian claws and horns, reptile and fish scales, bird feathers, bird beaks, and the outermost layer of skin in most animals. Within the scope of the study; The use performance of animal waste product in eliminating water pollution, another environmental problem, was investigated by investigating the heavy metal ions adsorbing capacity of chicken feathers, which is an animal waste material with high keratin content, which is abundant in poultry processing plants. Adsorption amounts of heavy metal ions Al3+, Cr3+, Mn2+, Fe3+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Zn2+, As3+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ in aqueous solutions on chicken feathers were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Optimum conditions for adsorption were determined by examining the effects of sodium hydroxide modification, pH and contact time. In the characterization of chicken feathers; Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used for functional group analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for morphological analysis, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) techniques for surface area and porosity analysis. In order to determine the kinetic model of the adsorption process, the pseudo-first-order kinetic model and pseudo-second-order kinetic model constants and correlation coefficients were examined with the help of experimental data. In the adsorption studies of Al3+, As3+, Cu2+, Zn2+, Fe3+, Cd2+, Cr3+, Pb2+, Mn2+ and Ni2+ ions from aqueous solutions, 1g/L adsorbent amount, 22 °C temperature, 300 rpm stirring speed and up to 24 hours were mixed with sodium hydroxide in experiments. Higher adsorption capacities were achieved in modified chicken feathers compared to unmodified chicken feathers. In the experiments, the best adsorption capacities of Cu2+, Pb2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ ions were found as 3,59, 2,20, 0,76 and 0,91 mg/g at pH 5,5, respectively. The best adsorption capacities of Al3+ and Cr3+ ions were found to be 1,53 and 2,97 mg/g, respectively, at pH 4,5. With the adjustment of Fe3+ and As3+ ions from the natural solution pH of 1,7 to pH 4,5 and pH 5,5, the metal ions precipitate to a large extent as hydroxyl ions with the increasing pH effect and the precipitated metal hydroxides are formed in 0,2 µm Cellulose. Data for these metals could not be obtained because acetate (CA) was removed after filtration. On the other hand, no decrease was observed in the initial concentrations of Mn2+ and Ni2+ ions at pH 4,5 and pH 5,5 over time. As a result, it has been determined that chicken feathers are an effective adsorbent in the bulk removal of heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions and can be used as an adsorbent in the economical removal of environmental pollutants from water sources. In addition, it has been observed that the adsorption capacity can be increased significantly by modifying chicken feathers with sodium hydroxide in an ultrasonic environment.