Heavy metal ions such as cadmium, zinc, copper, lead and nickel are hazardous to both human life and the environment. In the present work study on the feasibility of the thermally treated Saudi Arabian clay for the removal of lead was carried out. The removal of lead (Pb2+) using thermally treated Saudi Arabian clay as a low-cost alternative natural adsorbent from aqueous solutions is investigated. Batch adsorption kinetic studies show the adsorption of lead metal ions (Pb2+) is strongly affected by initial pH of the solution, initial metal ion concentration and adsorbent doses. It has been found that the amount of adsorption of lead increases with initial metal ion concentration and solution pH but decreases with the amount of adsorbent. The adsorbent exhibited good sorption potential for lead at pH 6. Freundlich isotherm adsorption equations reasonably describe the adsorption isotherm within the metal ion concentration range. It has been established that thermally treated Saudi Arabian clay has the potential to be used for large scale separation of lead from wastewater. |
