Removal of Heavy Metals from Waste Water by Using Bi-Mg Bimetallic Nanoparticles Incorporated with Orange Peels

Abstract

Plant-mediated synthesis of the nanoparticles has attracted significant interest because of their biocompatible properties. Bimetallic nanoparticles comprise two different types of metals that play a significant role in wastewater. Bimetallic nanoparticles possess a greater surface area, increasing their adsorption than monometallic nanoparticles. In this study, synthesis and the adsorption behaviour of Bi-Mg bimetallic nanoparticles and their removal efficiency toward heavy metals (cadmium, lead, zinc) from wastewater is observed. Synthesis of bimetallic nanoparticles by natural resources (plant extract) is more significant than conventional methods because they are environment friendly, reliable, nontoxic and least expensive. Plant extract obtained from biomass wastes like roots, flowers, leaves and fruit peels is composed of novel secondary metabolites like terpenoids, flavonoids and alkaloids that act as stabilizing and reducing agents. Different techniques like SEM, EDX and XRD were used to analyze the morphology, composition and size of synthesized nanoparticles. The removal of heavy metals depends on the pH, dosage of adsorbent and initial concentration of the metals. The results showed that the plant-mediated synthesized nanoparticles could act as an efficient adsorbent to remove heavy metals from wastewater.