Characterization of chemically modified biosorbents from olive tree pruning for the biosorption of lead

This work includes a complete physic-chemical characterization of biosorbents developed by, chemical treatment of olive tree pruning waste. The biosorbents were characterized in terms of their, surface properties, such as surface area and pore size but also in terms of their chemical composition. It is observed that treatments affect mainly the external surface. The SEM micrographs indicated, changes in biomass physical structure. The infrared spectra indicate changes in functional groups, present in the biomass before and after the treatment tests. Results of potentiometric titrations, showed that acid treated OTP contains more acidic groups than untreated OTP, indicating that the, biosorbent surface becomes more negative due to dissociation of weakly acidic oxygen-containing, groups. Finally, lead biosorption experiments showed that these biosorbent materials could be good, candidates to be used for heavy metals removal.