ADSORPTION OF HEAVY METALS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY Moringa Oleifera PODS AND FELDSPAR CLAY COMPOSITE

Abstract

Pollution removal from contaminated water is a vital step in environmental and human health protection. For impoverished countries, using biomaterials to remove heavy metals from polluted water is an environmentally benign and cost-effective strategy. In this study, Moringa Oleifera pod-Modified Feldspar Clay (MFC) was calcined after being modified with the Moringa Oleifera pod. The efficiency of these adsorbents in the aqueous solution adsorption of Pb2+, Cu2+, and Cd2+ ions was investigated as a function of pH, time, initial concentration, and temperature. The adsorption maximum capacities of Cu2+, Cd2+, and Pb2+ by MFC were 54.42 mg·g−1, 41.26 mg·g−1, and 35.16 mg·g−1, respectively. The Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm equations ascertain and used to analyze the equilibrium isotherm data. The adsorption process fit the pseudo-second-order (PSO) kinetics well in all cases, and the Langmuir isotherm equation fit the experimental data well. ∆G0 values up to-10 kJ.mol-1 are coherent with electrostatic interaction between adsorption sites and the metal ion, physisorption.