Page 17 - Book of Abstracts

th
8 Biannual Conference on Chemistry - CHEM 08

Activated Multifunctional Nanoparticle Biochar for Highly

Efficient Capture and Removal of Ni(II) and Micro-
organisms from Water Samples: Invoking the Sorption

Mechanism
Nworie, Felix .S., Nwabue, Frank .I and Nwoke Eucharia

Department of Industrial Chemistry, Ebonyi State University, PMB
053 Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria

Corresponding author: nworie.felix@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

World Health Organization projected that over two billion people around
the globe depend on water sources contaminated with heavy metals and
microbes. To find a low cost and environmentally friendly method of
handling the challenges associated with unsafe drinking water this study
reports the preparation, activation, characterization, immobilization and
removal of pathogenic organisms from water using multifunctional
nanoparticle derived from biomass of plantain peel. The activated and
immobilized biochar were characterized using FTIR, XRD, BET, SEM. The
result indicated spectral band shift in doped biochar in comparison to
activated biochar as a confirmation of the immobilization of Ni(II) to the
activated plantain peel biochar by complexation of acidic protons of the
hydroxyl group with Ni(II) cation. The XRD indicated decrease in
crystalline peaks of the doped activated biochar as shown by the
appearance of flocculated- intercalated structure. SEM images of activated
biochar and doped biochar indicated the surface morphology to be rough,
irregular highly corrugated and clusters of small particles
respectively. From the results of BET surface area the activated product
exists in the nanosize form with crystallite size of 14.56 nm evaluated
through Debye-Scherer equation. Effect of extraneous variables such as
pH, initial Ni(II) ion concentration was studied and applied in
determining the mechanism of sorption which was mainly by ion
exchange with minor chelation. Antimicrobial evaluation of the biochar
and its immobilized counterpart indicated that they have high potential

to be used as microbial agents against common pathogenic organisms
such as E. coli, Staphylococcus, klebsiella and Candida sp.

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS CHEM 08 (2020) Page 16