Wastewater treatment using raw date pit-based adsorbents for heavy metal removal
Hasan ALMOSTEKA, Mohamed S. ZAGHLOUL
Abstract. The pollution of water bodies by heavy metals is a significant environmental and health issue and therefore requires practical and sustainable clean-up solutions. In this paper, the performance of raw date pits as an economic and sustainable adsorbent is determined in the removal of Ni²+, Cu²⁺, Cr³⁺, Cd²⁺, and Pb2+ from aqueous solution. The impact of pH (3.0 to 8.0) and particle size (150-600 μm) at a contact time (2 hours) on the adsorption efficiency was also systematically investigated. Metal concentrations were determined using the ICP-OES technique, while FTIR and XRD were used to investigate surface properties and structural changes. Experimental results indicated that at pH 6-8, removal efficiencies were 99.8%, 100%, 99.6%, 98.4%, and 91% for Pb2+, Cr³⁺, Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Cd²⁺, respectively. Decreasing particle sizes to 150 μm significantly enhanced the removal capacity compared to adsorbents sized at 300 μm and 600 μm. The results demonstrate the feasibility of date pit-based adsorbents as an alternative to conventional activated carbon and the upcycling of agricultural waste into a valuable adsorbent for wastewater treatment. The study presented in this research is a contribution to the advancement of green chemistry principles and the application of a scalable and eco-friendly approach to addressing heavy metal pollution in industrial and municipal water systems.
Keywords
Adsorption, Date Pits, Heavy Metals, Low-Cost Adsorbents, Wastewater
Published online 6/20/2026, 7 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Hasan ALMOSTEKA, Mohamed S. ZAGHLOUL, Wastewater treatment using raw date pit-based adsorbents for heavy metal removal, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 67, pp 810-816, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904176-112
The article was published as article 112 of the book Climate Action and Sustainability
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] X. Li et al., “Removal of Pb (II) from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto modified areca waste: Kinetic and thermodynamic studies,” Desalination, vol. 258, no. 1–3, pp. 148–153, Aug. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2010.03.023.
[2] M. Uçurum, “A study of removal of Pb heavy metal ions from aqueous solution using lignite and a new cheap adsorbent (lignite washing plant tailings),” Fuel, vol. 88, no. 8, pp. 1460–1465, Aug. 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2009.02.034.
[3] S. S. Leonard, G. K. Harris, and X. Shi, “Metal-induced oxidative stress and signal transduction,” Free Radic. Biol. Med., vol. 37, no. 12, pp. 1921–1942, Dec. 2004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2004.09.010.
[4] I. A. W. Tan, J. C. Chan, B. H. Hameed, and L. L. P. Lim, “Adsorption behavior of cadmium ions onto phosphoric acid-impregnated microwave-induced mesoporous activated carbon,” J. Water Process Eng., vol. 14, pp. 60–70, Dec. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2016.10.007.
[5] M. Peyravi and H. Rezaei, “Metals removal by membrane filtration,” in Metals in Water, Elsevier, 2023, pp. 331–351. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-95919-3.00014-8.
[6] A. Oehmen, R. Viegas, S. Velizarov, M. A. M. Reis, and J. G. Crespo, “Removal of heavy metals from drinking water supplies through the ion exchange membrane bioreactor,” Desalination, vol. 199, no. 1–3, pp. 405–407, Nov. 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2006.03.091.
[7] Q. Chen, Y. Yao, X. Li, J. Lu, J. Zhou, and Z. Huang, “Comparison of heavy metal removals from aqueous solutions by chemical precipitation and characteristics of precipitates,” J. Water Process Eng., vol. 26, pp. 289–300, Dec. 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe.2018.11.003.
[8] Z. Gong, H. T. Chan, Q. Chen, and H. Chen, “Application of Nanotechnology in Analysis and Removal of Heavy Metals in Food and Water Resources,” Nanomaterials, vol. 11, no. 7, p. 1792, July 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11071792.
[9] E. Bazrafshan, L. Mohammadi, A. Ansari-Moghaddam, and A. H. Mahvi, “Heavy metals removal from aqueous environments by electrocoagulation process– a systematic review,” J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng., vol. 13, no. 1, p. 74, Dec. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40201-015-0233-8.
[10] T. Ahmad et al., “The use of date palm as a potential adsorbent for wastewater treatment: a review,” Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res., vol. 19, no. 5, pp. 1464–1484, June 2012. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0709-8.
[11] B. Barik, A. Kumar, P. S. Nayak, L. S. K. Achary, L. Rout, and P. Dash, “Ionic liquid assisted mesoporous silica-graphene oxide nanocomposite synthesis and its application for removal of heavy metal ions from water,” Mater. Chem. Phys., vol. 239, p. 122028, Jan. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2019.122028.
[12] H. N. Tran, “Adsorption Technology for Water and Wastewater Treatments,” Water, vol. 15, no. 15, p. 2857, Aug. 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15152857.
[13] N. M. Hilal, I. A. Ahmed, and R. E. El-Sayed, “Activated and Nonactivated Date Pits Adsorbents for the Removal of Copper(II) and Cadmium(II) from Aqueous Solutions,” ISRN Phys. Chem., vol. 2012, pp. 1–11, Dec. 2012. https://doi.org/10.5402/2012/985853.
[14] UAEU, “Date Palm Culture in UAE,” 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.uaeu.ac.ae/en/research/centers/dpdrud/ datepalmculture.shtml#:~:text=The%20actual%20date%20tree%20 population,composes%20about%20120%20date20varieties
[15] A. A. Juma Mohamed, L. A. Vuai, M. Kombo, and O. J. Chukwuma, “Removal of selected metal ions using powder of seeds of Ajwaa dates from aqueous solution,” J. Anal. Pharm. Res., vol. 8, no. 6, pp. 228–232, 2019. https://doi.org/10.15406/japlr.2019.08.00343.
[16] I. Loughlaimi, Z. Bakher, and A. Zouhri̇, “Enhanced Heavy Metal Removal from Wastewater Produced by Chemical Analysis Laboratory Using Calcium Oxide Precipitation: pH Improvement and Characterization of Precipitated Phases,” J. Turk. Chem. Soc. Sect. Chem., vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 83–92, Feb. 2024. https://doi.org/10.18596/jotcsa.1321183.
[17] N. Babakhani, M. Reyahi-Khoram, and S. Sobhanardakani, “Kinetic study of heavy metal ions removal from aqueous solutions using activated pumice stone,” ehemj, vol. 3, no. 1, p. 47 EP – 53, Mar. 2016.
[18] M.tech student, Department of Environmental Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysore, Karnataka, India, P. R.T, and Dr. U. T.H, “Removal of heavy metal from synthetic wastewater using Rice husk and Groundnut shell as adsorbents,” IOSR J. Environ. Sci. Toxicol. Food Technol., vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 26–34, 2014. https://doi.org/10.9790/2402-08722634.
[19] B. A. Ezeonuegbu et al., “Agricultural waste of sugarcane bagasse as efficient adsorbent for lead and nickel removal from untreated wastewater: Biosorption, equilibrium isotherms, kinetics and desorption studies,” Biotechnol. Rep., vol. 30, p. e00614, June 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.btre.2021.e00614.
[20] H. Çelebi, G. Gök, and O. Gök, “Adsorption capability of brewed tea waste in waters containing toxic lead(II), cadmium (II), nickel (II), and zinc(II) heavy metal ions,” Sci. Rep., vol. 10, no. 1, p. 17570, Oct. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74553-4.
[21] M. T. Amin, A. A. Alazba, and M. Shafiq, “Adsorption of copper (Cu2+) from aqueous solution using date palm trunk fibre: isotherms and kinetics,” Desalination Water Treat., vol. 57, no. 47, pp. 22454–22466, Oct. 2016. https://doi.org/10.1080/19443994.2015.1131635.
[22] M. A. Al-Ghouti, J. Li, Y. Salamh, N. Al-Laqtah, G. Walker, and M. N. M. Ahmad, “Adsorption mechanisms of removing heavy metals and dyes from aqueous solution using date pits solid adsorbent,” J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 176, no. 1–3, pp. 510–520, Apr. 2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.11.059.
