Adsorption of cadmium from aqueous solution onto untreated coffee grounds: equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics.

Adsorption can be used as a cost effective and efficient technique for the removal of toxic heavy metals from wastewater. Waste materials with no further treatment such as coffee grounds from cafeterias may act as adsorbents for the removal of cadmium. Batch kinetic and equilibrium experiments were conducted to study the effects of contact time, adsorbent dose, initial pH, particle size, initial concentration of cadmium and temperature.