Valorization of Balanites aegyptiaca Seeds from Mauritania: Modeling of Adsorption Isotherms of Caffeine from Aqueous Solution

This paper focuses on the development and characterization of low cost sorbent to Balanites aegyptiaca seeds withouttreatment and its application in the adsorption of caffeine in aqueous solution. The Balanites aegyptiaca seeds were characterizedby using physicochemical parameters, Scanning Electron Micrograph (SEM) and Fourier Transform Infra-Red spectroscopy(FTIR). Batch sorption experiments are intended to identify the adsorption isotherms of the caffeine on the Balanites aegyptiacaseeds. Four isotherm models (Freundlich, Langmuir, Redlich–Peterson and Sips) were tested for modeling the adsorptionisotherms by nonlinear method. The maximum adsorption capacity was found to be 4.28 mg g-1. Based on data obtained in thisstudy, it can be concluded that the Balanites aegyptiaca seeds are a promising sorbent.