Revista Europea de Biología Experimental Acceso abierto

Abstracto

Kinetic and equilibrium studies on the adsorption of Cu(II) ions by a new activated carbon

A. Jafar Ahamed, V. Balakrishnan and S. Arivoli

The efficiency of activated carbon prepared from Albizia lebbeck bark [ALC] for the adsorption of Cu²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions has been studied as a function of agitation time, adsorbent dosage, initial metal ion concentration, temperature and pH of adsorbate solution. The optimal conditions for the adsorption have been arrived at and experiments were conducted to determine the Langmuir constants, Freundlich parameters and thermodynamic parameters such as
G°,
H° and
S°. Desorption studies were also carried out for the recovery of both adsorbent and the metal ions. The adsorption of Cu²⁺ ions on to the surface of ALC has been confirmed by the analysis of IR spectra, XRD and SEM images before and after Cu²⁺ adsorption.