Sorption thermodynamic and kinetic study of Cu(II) onto modified plant stem bark

In this study, four types of “Juá” stem barks (Ziziphus joazeiro) were investigated for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The tested samples included natural coarse barks, and barks washed with water, ethanol–water, and NaOH solutions. The solvent-modified materials simulated the waste of the industrial extraction of saponins from bark. The valorization of these processing residues as sorbents was evaluated. The NaOH-washed sorbent exhibited the highest sorption capacity for Cu(II) (maximum sorption capacity \(\approx\) $\approx$ 32 mg g⁻¹). Ion exchange process between copper and exchangeable surface cations and electrostatic attraction of copper with carboxylate and phenolate groups were identified as the primary sorption mechanisms. Desorption tests revealed that a large portion of the metal sorbed (80%) was easily released from the sorbent thus suggesting, in line with the proposed mechanisms, the existence of weak sorbate-sorbent interactions. The sorptive process was found to be exothermic (∆H° =  − 48.1 ± 13.5 kJ.mol⁻¹) and thermodynamically favorable at lower temperatures.