Availability of Chicken Feather for Removal of Hexavalent Chromium and Oil

Abstract We investigated usefulness of chicken feather as bioadsorbent for removal of hexavalent chromium[Cr( Ⅵ )] and oil from aqueous solution. Chicken feather was chemically treated with DTPA, EDTA, NaOH and SDS, respectively. Among them, EDTA was the most effective in adsorbing Cr( Ⅵ ). Cr( Ⅵ ) uptake by chicken feather was increased with decreasing pH; the highest Cr( Ⅵ ) uptake was observed at pH 2.0. By increasing Cr( Ⅵ ) concentration, Cr( Ⅵ ) uptake was increased, and maximum Cr( Ⅵ ) uptake was 0.34 mmol/g. Cr( Ⅵ ) adsorption by chicken feather was well described by Freundlich isotherm than Langmuir isotherm and Freundlich constant(1/ n ) was 0.476. As the concentration of chicken feather was increased, Cr( Ⅵ ) removal efficiency was increased but Cr( Ⅵ ) uptake was decreased. Most of Cr( Ⅵ ) was adsorbed at early reaction stage(1 h) and adsorption equilibrium was established at 5 h. On the other hand, chicken feather adsorbed effectively oils including bunker-A and bunker-C. In conclusion, our results suggest that chicken feather waste could be used to remove heavy metal and oil; it is a potential candidate for biosorption material.