Preparation, Modification and Characterization of Chitosan-Oxalic Kola Nut Pod Adsorbent

This work investigated the preparation, modification and characterization of prepared adsorbent from kola nut pod (agro waste).The kola nut pod waste was obtained from Ipetu-Ijesha farm, modified using chitosan-oxalic gel and characterized using Scanning Electron micrograph -Energy dispersive X-ray and FTIR spectrophotometer. The morphological study revealed that the chemically modified adsorbent has high porosity and large surface area for effective adsorption of metal ions in aqueous solution, The EDX analysis revealed that the chitosan-oxalic modified kola nut pod adsorbent contains C (0.01%), N (14.46%), K (7.76%), O (14.48%), Si (0.09%) and Ca (62.24%). The FTIR spectrum shows some adsorption peaks that indicate the functional groups on the adsorbent This further suggested that the adsorbent has potential adsorption sites as represented by the functional groups OH, C-H, C-C, and COOH. The results of Physico chemical properties showed that moisture; 8.32±0.07, Ash; 6.31±0.04, lignin; 12.97±0.03, cellulose; 23.53±0.04, Hemicellulose; 16.76±0.02, pectin; 7.74±0.03 and extractives 24.37±0.04. This results showed that this kola nut pod contains considerable amount of lignin, cellulose and hemicelluloses thus, will form a very good adsorbent for removal of dyes and heavy metals in wastewaters. Keyword: modification, characterization, chitosan-oxalic, kola nut pod waste, Physico chemical properties, morphological study.