Lead removal from aqueous solution by the shell of golden apple snail and related mechanisms
Golden apple snail is one of the 100 pernicious alien invasive species in the world. In this study, the shell powder of golden apple snail was used as the adsorbent to approach its char-acteristics and mechanisms of lead (Pb2+) removal from aqueous solution under laboratory condi-tion. It was found that the removal rate of Pb2+ by the shell powder was related to the shell pow-der amount, initial Pb2+ concentration, solution pH, and reaction time, while solution tempera-ture had lesser effects. The fitting of Langumir model indicated that the Pb2+ adsorption capacity of the shell powder was 89. 29 mg·g-1. The analysis of scanning electron microscopy showed that the Pb2+ removal process was mainly happened at the surface of the powder, and small parti-cle was more active. The X-ray diffraction indicated that the adsorbed Pb2+ was in the form of PbCO3 existing on the powder. The mechanisms of the Pb2+ removal could be the ion exchange and precipitation on the aragonite and calcite in the powder. It was suggested that the shell of golden apple snail could be used as an effective bio- adsorbent for Pb2+ removal.
golden apple snailsnail shellPb2+scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffrac-tion