This study evaluated the efficacy of moringa seeds (Moringa oleifera Lam.) as an adsorbent material for removing toxic heavy metals such as cadmium, lead, and chromium from contaminated solutions. The effect of the adsorbent mass was investigated at two pH conditions (5.0 and 7.0). The optimized conditions were 0.300 g of adsorbent at pH 5.0, used for the isotherms construction, and linearized according to Langmuir and Freundlich models. Results showed that cadmium adsorption was similar in both the models used. For lead, the Freundlich model had the best adjustment and chromium was better adjusted by the Langmuir model. It was concluded that the adsorbent was effective in the remediation of solutions containing cadmium, lead and chromium, thus, its use as sustainable alternative material is feasible, since it has low cost, does not need a previous treatment and it is a byproduct.
adsorption; isotherms; remediation
