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Adsorptive removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) onto mixed-waste activated carbon: kinetic, thermodynamic, and competitive studies and application to real wastewater samples

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Abstract

This work aimed to investigate the adsorption characteristics, both kinetically and thermodynamically, of Cu(II) and Pb(II) removal from aqueous solutions onto mixed-waste activated carbon, as well as to study the competitive behavior found in mixed heavy metal solution systems. This study shows that activated carbon prepared from mixed waste is an effective adsorbent for the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) from aqueous solutions, with the aim of detoxifying industrial effluents before their safe disposal onto water surfaces. The adsorption process was characterized in terms of kinetic and thermodynamic studies. In addition, the influence of presence of Cu(II) and Pb(II) in a competitive system was investigated. The results showed that the maximum adsorption capacities were gained at a pH of 6 with a contact time of 180 min, a metal solution concentration of 300 ppm, and an adsorbent dose of 0.3 g/L. The adsorption process was found to follow a pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters such as ΔG o, ΔH o, and ΔS o showed that the sorption process was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. A competitive study demonstrated the applicability of mixed-waste activated carbon to adsorb Cu(II) and Pb(II) from a solution of mixed metals. In addition, the adsorption capacity was found to be as effective as other adsorbents reported in the literature. The developed adsorptive removal procedure was applied for treatment of real wastewater samples and showed high removal efficiency.

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Acknowledgments

The authors extend their sincere appreciation to the Deanship of Scientific Research at King Saud University for funding this Prolific Research Group (PRG-1436-04).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Advanced Materials Research Chair, Chemistry Department, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia

    Zeid Abdullah ALOthman, Mohamed Abdelaty Habila & Rahmat Ali

  2. Departemt of Chemistry, College of Science, Princess Nora bint Abdul Rahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Nora H. Al-Shalan

  3. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, P.O. Box 6086, Riyadh, 11442, Saudi Arabia

    Sulaiman M. Alfadul & Bader Alfarhan

  4. Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt

    Ibrahim Gar Al alm Rashed

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  1. Zeid Abdullah ALOthman
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  2. Mohamed Abdelaty Habila
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  4. Sulaiman M. Alfadul
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Correspondence to Zeid Abdullah ALOthman.

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ALOthman, Z.A., Habila, M.A., Al-Shalan, N.H. et al. Adsorptive removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) onto mixed-waste activated carbon: kinetic, thermodynamic, and competitive studies and application to real wastewater samples. Arab J Geosci 9, 315 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2350-9

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