Synthesis of an adsorbent from sugarcane bagass by graft copolymerization and its utilization to remove Cd (II) ions from aqueous solution

•Novel modified sugarcane bagasses is first presented by graft copolymerization.•Graft copolymerization is considered to be an attractive modification technique.•The modified sugarcane bagasse is an effective and low-cost heavy metal adsorbent.

This paper presents a novel adsorbent, modified sugarcane bagasse (MSB), that is developed from untreated sugarcane bagasse (USB) using graft copolymerization and which can be used to remove cadmium ions from aqueous solution. The adsorption capacity of MSB was evaluated with respect to several factors, including pH values, initial cadmium concentration, and the adsorbent dosages. Adsorption isotherms, kinetics, activation energy, and thermodynamic parameters are also described in detail. The Langmuir isotherm model offered the best fit among the various isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacities of MSB and USB were 14.28 and 3.53 mg g−1, respectively. The adsorption kinetic results indicated that the adsorption of Cd (II) onto MSB followed the pseudo-second-order model, and chemical adsorption was the rate-controlling step. The calculated activation energy (Ea) was 254.5 kJ mol−1, which indicates that the adsorption of Cd (II) onto MSB was under chemical control. Sugarcane bagasse can be a potentially effective heavy metal adsorbent after a cost effective graft copolymerization.