BIONATURE

Heavy-metal contamination remains a persistent challenge in water treatment, and bio-derived polymeric adsorbents are being investigated as lower-cost alternatives to conventional materials. In this study, a PSSSAA resin was prepared from Phoenix sylvestris seed powder by a microwave-assisted route and characterised by thermogravimetric-differential thermal-derivative thermogravimetric analysis (TG-DTA-DTG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy. Batch screening was conducted for Cd(II), Pb(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) over pH 2–8 using 50 mg of resin and a 2 h equilibration period at 25 °C. The modified material showed a rougher and more heterogeneous surface than the precursor powder, multistep thermal degradation with 16.9% residue at 774 °C, and changes in the hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carbohydrate fingerprint regions of the FTIR spectrum. Apparent metal removal increased with pH and reached maximum values at pH 7: 88.75% for Cd(II), 85.16% for Pb(II), 79.01% for Ni(II), and 74.75% for Zn(II), followed by a decrease at pH 8. Because metal hydrolysis or precipitation may contribute to removal near neutral pH, these values are interpreted as pH-dependent apparent removal under the applied batch conditions rather than as intrinsic adsorption capacities. The findings support further evaluation of PSSSAA as a seed-derived sorbent, including adsorption isotherms and kinetics, precipitation controls, regeneration studies, quantitative surface-area analysis, and validation in multicomponent or real wastewater.