Simultaneous recovery of Cu2+ and Pb2+ from metallurgical wastewater by two tandem columns fixed respectively with tetraethylenepentamine and phosphoric acid modified bagasse

•Phosphoric acid (PA) and amine (AM) modified bagasse (BS) was prepared.•AM-BS fixed-bed column showed high adsorption selectivity toward Cu2+.•PA-BS fixed-bed column showed high adsorption selectivity toward Pb2+.•Competitive substitution reaction during the sorption process were verified by EDX.•Tandem columns fixed with AM-BS and PA-BS could simultaneously remove Cu2+ and Pb2+.