Vol. 25, No. 3 (2026), IA26853 https://doi.org/10.24275/rmiq/IA26853

Sustainable removal of Fe3+ and Pb2+ from water using Agave americana residue–based biomaterials: Adsorption performance and isotherm analysis

 

Authors

M.G. Contreras-Hernández, J.E. Montoya-Badillo, I.N. Cordero-Soto, S. Valle-Cervantes, T.E. Lara-Ceníceros, J.C. Rojas-Montes, M.D.J. Rodríguez-Rosales, D. Reyes-Jáquez

Abstract

Contamination of water resources by Fe and Pb remains a major environmental concern. This study evaluated untreated (BN), thermally treated (BT), ultrasound-treated (BU), and alkali-treated (BQ) biomaterials derived from A. americana leaf residues for the removal of metal ions from aqueous solutions. FT-IR analysis confirmed the presence of hydroxyl, carbonyl and carboxyl groups that may serve as potential adsorption sites. A full factorial design involving four biomaterials, two initial pH levels, and two particle sizes was used to compare adsorption performance under identical experimental conditions. Untreated BN exhibited the highest performance for the Fe(III) removal at pH 4 and 250 µm, reaching a maximum removal efficiency of 82.86%. In contrast, alkali-treated BQ achieved complete Pb(II) removal under at pH 5 and 250 µm. Equilibrium data for the iron BN system were best described by the Freundlich model, indicating heterogeneous adsorption, whereas Pb(II) adsorption onto BQ followed the Langmuir model, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 60.69 mg·g⁻¹. The main contribution of this work is the metal-specific selection of two biomaterials derived from the same residue, demonstrating that treatment effectiveness depended on the target metal ion. These findings support the valorization of A. americana residues as precursors for simple metal-specific bioadsorbents.

Keywords

Remediation, Adsorbent, Heavy metals, Lignocellulosic biomass, Environmental remediation.

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