Abstract
The presence of heavy metals in environmental waters having an important place in the industrial waste is a major threat to viability. Heavy metals are transported to humans through the ecological cycle, damaging many tissues and organs. In recent years, agricultural and food waste can be used to remove heavy metals. At the present study, magnetically modified coffee grains which are alternative to conventional particle systems were prepared and heavy metal removal performances were investigated. The coffee grains used were magnetically modified by contact with water-based magnetic fluid. Magnetically modified coffee grains were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis and electron spin resonance (ESR). Adsorption studies are made with four different heavy metal ions, namely Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II) and Zn(II). Adsorption isotherms were determined and heavy metal removal performance of magnetic coffee grains were investigated from synthetic waste water.