In preliminary experiments using
banana cortex, it was found that material with 1 mm of particle size showed higher retention capability
(up to12%) than the material with 2 mm of particle size. Considering these results, 1 mm particle size
material was used in further experiments with the other waste materials. It was found that for Pb and
Cu removal, lemon and orange cortex showed better biosorption capability when compared with banana
cortex (up to 15% less for Pb and 48% less for Cu).