The potential of swamp arum (
Lasimorpha senegalensis
) seeds as a low-cost
adsorbent for the removal of Hg (II) ions from aqueous solution was investigated in this
study. The influence of initial metal concentration on the percent adsorption of Hg (II) ions
onto powdered swamp arum seeds was studied in a batch system and the filtrate was
analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The percent adsorbed for 10, 20,
40, 60 and 80 mg/L of the aqueous solution were 97.7, 98.9, 99.3, 99.7, and 96.5%
respectively. Three isotherms; Langmuir, Freundlich, and BET were used to model the
equilibrium sorption of Hg (II) ions onto powdered swamp arum seeds, with a correlation
coefficient of 0.998, 0.784 and0.842 respectively. The Langmuir model fitted the
equilibrium data best, with a correlation coefficient of 0.998 and a maximum adsorption
capacity q
m, of 5.917 mg/g. Thus, indicating monolayer coverage on the adsorbent. The
results showed that swamp arum seed have the potential to be applied as alternative lowcost
biosorbent in the remediation of heavy metal contamination in waste water.
