Salacca zalacca skin and its modified form as biosorbents for Hg²⁺ removal from aqueous solution

A chemically modified-biosorbent was prepared by attaching dithizone onto Salacca zalacca skin waste for Hg²⁺ bioremoval. The material was synthesized by refluxing dithizone 5% with the Salacca zalacca skin powder followed by drying. The material was characterized through scanning electron microscopy, gas sorption analysis, and Boehm titration. The applicability of the material as biosorbent was tested for Hg²⁺ adsorption at room temperature. Findings suggested that the modification altered the surface properties of the biosorbent as indicated by the increased values for such surface parameters as specific surface area, pore volume, and quantitative functional groups. Particularly, the material demonstrated a high removal efficiency during Hg²⁺ adsorption, which fit the pseudo-second-order kinetics. The removal efficiency of Hg²⁺ was not influenced by the adsorbent dosage of 1–4 g/L.