Equilibrium and kinetic studies on lead (II) adsorption by sugarcane bagasse derived activated carbon (SCBA) (TECHNICAL NOTE) Article in Press

Municipal and industrial wastewater contains a lot of contaminants. The major contaminant of concern is the heavy metals. Heavy metals are known to be toxic, non-biodegradable and have a long half-life. The release of untreated wastewater containing heavy metals can cause serious problems to human, plants and animals. In this study, activated carbon was developed from sugarcane bagasse and its effectiveness in absorbing lead ions from wastewater was examined. Sugarcane bagasse activated carbon was developed in a tube furnace at a temperature of 900 °C, a heating rate of 10 °C/min, the residence time of 3 hrs, and at a nitrogen flow rate of 100 mL/min. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of pH and initial lead concentrations on the adsorption process. The batch adsorption test showed that extent of lead adsorption by SCBA was dependent upon pH and initial lead concentrations. The optimum pH for lead adsorption was found to be pH 5.0. Removal of lead decreases with the increase in initial metal concentrations. The adsorption of lead ions onto SCBA is a pseudo-second-order reaction model. The rate limiting step is a chemisorption or chemical adsorption that involves valence forces by means of electrons exchange between the SCBA and lead ions.