A Novel Approach for Adsorption of Lead (II) Ions from Wastewater Using Cane Papyrus

Abstract

Lead (II) ions are a very toxic element known to cause detrimental effects to human health
even at very low concentrations. An adsorbent prepared using Cane Papyrus was used for the
adsorption of lead (II) ion from aqueous solution. Batch experiments were performed on
simulated aqueous solutions under optimized conditions of adsorbent dosage, contact time, pH
and initial lead (II) ion concentration at 25Co. The Freundlich isotherm model more suitably
described the adsorption process than the Langmuir model with linearized coefficients of 0.986
and 0.9733, respectively. Pseudo-second order kinetic equation best described the kinetics of the
reaction. Fourier transform infra-red analysis confirmed the presence of amino (–NH), carbonyl
(–C=O) and hydroxyl (–OH) functional groups. Furthermore, 0.2M HCl was a better desorbing
agent than 0.2 M NaOH and de-ionized water. The experimental data obtained demonstrated that
Cane Papyrus can be used as a suitable adsorbent for lead (II) ions removal from wastewater.