Waste cupels from cupellation processes are known to contain some toxic substances. Improper disposal of these cupels without proper treatment leads to environmental pollution which is harmful to mankind. This study looked at an innovative way of using spent tea bags (Camellia sinensis) as an absorbent of these toxic substances before their disposal into the environment. Studies on the leaching and biosorption characteristics of lead from two different waste cupels (used for oxide ore and sulphide ore treatments) using spent tea leaves were conducted. The cupels were pulverised and characterised prior to acid digestion using aqua regia at 95 °C for 15 min. The mineralogical and chemical compositions were determined using XRD and ICP-MS, respectively. Leachates from the waste cupels were contacted with spent tea leaves and the biosorption efficiency and specific metal update determined. Results showed that lead concentrations in waste cupels from oxide ore (CWO) increased as particle sizes increased while lead concentration from sulphide ore (CWS) decreased with increased particle sizes. The biosorption efficiency of lead was higher in CWO leachate (> 99%) than in CWS leachate (< 98%). Specific metal uptake was also higher in CWO than CWS. In both samples, the adsorption isotherms fitted well with the Langmuir model. The study shows that spent tea leaves can be used to extract some amount of lead in waste cupels before discharging into the environment rendering the waste cupels non-toxic. This will go a long way to reduce the environmental damage caused by their disposal into the environment.

Graphical Abstract

中文翻译：

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废茶叶（Camellia sinensis）及其对废杯中铅浸出和生物吸附特性的影响

众所周知，来自cupellation 过程的废杯含有一些有毒物质。这些杯子的不当处置没有适当的处理会导致对人类有害的环境污染。这项研究着眼于一种使用废茶包（Camellia sinensis）的创新方法) 作为这些有毒物质的吸收剂，然后再排放到环境中。使用废茶叶研究了两种不同废杯（用于氧化矿和硫化矿处理）中铅的浸出和生物吸附特性。在使用王水在 95 °C 下酸消化 15 分钟之前，将杯子粉碎并表征。矿物学和化学成分分别使用 XRD 和 ICP-MS 测定。来自废杯的渗滤液与废茶叶接触，并确定生物吸附效率和特定金属更新。结果表明，氧化矿石（CWO）中的铅浓度随着粒径的增加而增加，而硫化矿（CWS）中的铅浓度随着粒径的增加而降低。CWO渗滤液中铅的生物吸附效率（> 99％）高于CWS渗滤液（< 98％）。CWO 中的特定金属吸收率也高于 CWS。在这两个样品中，吸附等温线与朗缪尔模型拟合得很好。研究表明，废茶叶可用于在废茶杯中提取一定量的铅，然后再排放到环境中，从而使废茶杯无毒。这将大大减少因将其排放到环境中而造成的环境破坏。研究表明，废茶叶可用于在废茶杯中提取一定量的铅，然后再排放到环境中，从而使废茶杯无毒。这将大大减少因将其排放到环境中而造成的环境破坏。研究表明，废茶叶可用于在废茶杯中提取一定量的铅，然后再排放到环境中，从而使废茶杯无毒。这将大大减少因将其排放到环境中而造成的环境破坏。

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