Chemically activated Ipomoea carnea as an adsorbent for the copper sorption from synthetic solutions

Abstract

An indigenously prepared zinc chloride activated Ipomoea carnea (morning glory), a low-cost and abundant adsorbent, was used for removal of Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions in a batch adsorption system. The chemical activating agent ZnCl2 was dissolved in deionised water and then added to the adsorbent in two different ratios 1:1 and 1:0.5 adsorbent to activating agent ratio by weight. Studies were conducted as a function of contact time, initial metal concentration, dose of adsorbent, and pH. Activated Ipomoea carnea (AIC) were characterised using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), iodine number and methylene blue number. High iodine numbers indicates development of micro pores with zinc chloride activation. Maximum adsorption was noted within pH range 6.0(±0.05). Adsorption process is fast initially and reaches equilibrium after about 4 hours. The kinetic data were analysed using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models. The pseudo-second-order kinetic model was found to agree well with the experimental data. Adsorption equilibrium data were analyzed using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The Langmuir model represented the sorption process better than the Freundlich model. Based on the Langmuir isotherm, the monolayer adsorption capacity of Cu(II) ions was 7.855 mg g−1 for AIC (1:1) and 6.934 mg g−1 for AIC (1:0.5).