Activated carbon from parthenium as adsorbent: Adsorption of Hg(II) from aqueous solution

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) prepared from parthenium was used to remove Hg(II) from aqueous solution by adsorption technique under varying conditions of agitation time, metal ion concentration, adsorbent dose and pH. Adsorption equilibrium reached within 165 min for all concentrations studied (10 to 50 mg/L). Adsorption is dependents on solution <i>p</i>H, Hg (II) concentration, carbon concentration and contact time. Adsorption followed both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The adsorption capacity was found to be 10 mg/g of AC at initial <i>p</i>H of 5.0<i> </i>at 30+2°C for the particle size of 125-250μm. The percent removal increased with <i>p</i>H from 2 to 6 and remained constant up to <i>p</i>H 10.0.