Environmental Management: Pragmatic Suitability of Low Cost Activated Carbon in Lead (II)Ion Removal by Continuous Mode of Adsorption

Abstract

Heavy metals such as chromium, lead, and arsenic are usually present in trace amounts in natural waters but many of them are toxic even at very low concentrations. An increasing quantity of heavy metals in our resources is currently an area of greater concern, especially since a large number of industries are discharging their metal containing effluents into freshwater without any adequate treatment. Activated carbons show a significant ability in removing heavy metal ions from an aqueous solution by adsorption, which has been examined by many researchers. Activated carbon derived from Manilkarazapota tree-wood (MZTWAC), which was found to be a suitable adsorbent for the removal of lead ions through continuous adsorption mode, was examined in this paper. A breakthrough curve has been plotted to find the effect of initial concentration and adsorbent bed height in the adsorption of lead (II)ion through MZTWAC. The breakthrough time and the saturation time increased as the initial concentration increased from 40 mg.L-1 to 60 mg.L-1. The saturation time was in the incremental mode when the bed height was increased from 5 cm to 7 cm bed thickness for 40 mg.L-1 concentration. Adams-Bohart’s model perfectly fits with this fixed-bed column in the removal of lead(II) from an aqueous solution using MZTWAC. Activated carbon derived from MZTWAC is better suited for the purpose of detoxifying metal-contaminated wastewater.