Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313

www.elsevier.com/locate/jcis

Kinetics and equilibrium adsorption study of lead(II) onto activated

carbon prepared from coconut shell
M. Sekar a,∗ , V. Sakthi a , S. Rengaraj b
a Department of Chemistry, N.G.M. College, Pollachi 642 001, Tamil Nadu, India
b Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Received 24 December 2003; accepted 16 June 2004

Available online 2 September 2004

Abstract
Removal of lead from aqueous solutions by adsorption onto coconut-shell carbon was investigated. Batch adsorption experiments were
performed to find out the effective lead removal at different metal ion concentrations. Adsorption of Pb2+ ion was strongly affected by pH.
The coconut-shell carbon (CSC) exhibited the highest lead adsorption capacity at pH 4.5. Isotherms for the adsorption of lead on CSC were
developed and the equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Tempkin isotherm models. At pH 4.5, the maximum lead
adsorption capacity of CSC estimated with the Langmuir model was 26.50 mg g−1 adsorbent. Energy of activation (Ea ) and thermodynamic
parameters such as
G,
H , and
S were evaluated by applying the Arrhenius and van’t Hoff equations. The thermodynamics of Pb(II)
on CSC indicates the spontaneous and endothermic nature of adsorption. Quantitative desorption of Pb(II) from CSC was found to be 75%
which facilitates the sorption of metal by ion exchange.
 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Coconut-shell carbon; Lead; Adsorption; Isotherms; Kinetics; Thermodynamics and desorption

1. Introduction The permissible limit of lead in drinking water is

The presence of heavy metals in the aquatic environment
has been of great concern to scientists and engineers be-
cause of their increased discharge, toxic nature, and other
adverse effects on receiving waters. Unlike most organic pol-
lutants, heavy metals are generally refractory and cannot be
degraded or readily detoxified biologically. Hence the safe
and effective disposal of wastewater containing heavy metals
is always a challenge to industrialists and environmentalists,
since cost-effective treatment alternative are not available. In
recent years, Pb has been introduced into natural water from
a variety of sources such as storage batteries, lead smelting,
tetraethyllead manufacturing, mining, plating, ammunition,
and the ceramic glass industries [1].
* Corresponding author. Fax: +91-04259-234869.
E-mail address: marimuthusekar@hotmail.com (M. Sekar).
0021-9797/$ – see front matter  2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2004.06.042
0.05 mg l−1 [2]. The presence of excess lead in drinking
water causes diseases such as anemia, encephalopathy, and
hepatitis. Lead ions have an affinity for ligands containing
thiol and phosphatic groups and they inhibit the biosynthe-
sis of heme, causing damage both to the kidney and liver;
this behavior of lead is similar to that of calcium. How-
ever, Pb can remain immobilized for years, and hence it
is difficult to detect the metabolic disorders it causes [3].
The problems connected with heavy metal pollution are cur-
tailed by processes such as precipitation, electrode deposi-
tion, ultrafiltration, cementation, selected solvent extraction,
activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange, and biological
processes [4]. Adsorption is an attractive process, in view
of its efficiency and the ease with which it can apply to the
treatment of waste water containing heavy metals.
The use of adsorbents such as modified groundnut husk
[5], olive stones [6], lignite material [3], bagasse and fly
ash [7], peanut hull carbon [8], Fe(III)/Cr(III) sludge [9],
308 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313
betonite [10], water biogas residual slurry [11], crude conif-
erous bark [12], modified sawdust [13], and sugar beet pulp
[14] for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution has
been reported.
In this paper, systematic laboratory investigations of the
removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions using the low-cost
material coconut-shell carbon as the adsorbent by batch ad-
sorption techniques have been reported. The main objective
of this work is to study adsorption on CSC in the case of
Pb(II). The work reported here examines in detail the in-
fluence of temperature on the rate constant. The activation
parameters calculated from the adsorption measurements in
the present study are very useful in elucidating the nature of
adsorption.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Adsorbate
A stock solution of Pb(II) (1000 ppm) was prepared by
dissolving Pb(NO3 )2 in deionized water and acidified with
5 ml of concentrated HNO3 to prevent hydrolysis.
2.2. Adsorbent
Coconut shell was collected from oil industries located
in Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India. It was crushed, washed with
deionized water, and dried. A sample of 250 g of the dried
material was mixed with 450 g of concentrated sulfuric acid
and kept at atmospheric temperature for about 24 h with
occasional stirring. The product, acid-carbonized coconut
shell, was washed several times with deionized water and
5% sodium bicarbonate solution, followed by deionized wa-
ter, and dried at 90 ◦ C for 10 h. It was sieved to different
particle sizes, 75 to 850 µm, and finally kept in bottles. The
particle size 90 µm was used in the following batch adsorp-
tion experiments. The physical and chemical characteristics
of carbon are given in Table 1.
Table 1
Physical and chemical characteristics of carbon (CSC)
Parameter
pH (1% solution)
Conductivity (µS m−1 )
Moisture (%)
Ash (%)
Surface area (m2 g−1 )
Decolorizing power (mg g−1 )
Particle size (µm)
Water-soluble matter (%)
Apparent density (g l−1 )
Specific gravity
Porosity (%)
Ion exchange capacity (m equ g−1 )
2.3. Reagents
All the chemicals used in the study were from Merck (In-
dia) Ltd. and Qualigens Glaxo (India) Ltd. analytical grade.
2.4. Apparatus
A UV–visible spectrophotometer (Genesis 2 Thermo-
spectronic) was used for the determination of lead ion con-
centration. Adsorbate pH and adsorbent weight were mea-
sured using a Systronics pH meter and a Shimatzu electronic
balance.
2.5. Batch adsorption experiments
Experimental lead solutions of desired concentrations
were prepared from the stock solution with the appropriate
dilutions and the pH was adjusted to 4.5 with nitric acid and
sodium hydroxide.
The effect of agitation time with different initial concen-
tration of Pb(II) was studied by agitating 50 ml of different
concentrations of metal solution with 50 mg of adsorbent
of size 90 µm at 180 rpm for 3 h. At the end of predeter-
mined time intervals the sorbent was separated by centrifu-
gation and the Pb(II) remaining in solution was analyzed
spectrophotometrically at a wavelength of 520 nm, using
PAR reagent (2,4-pyridyl azoresorcinol) [15] as a complex-
ing agent. The same spectrophotometric method was used in
the subsequent experiments.
The effect of adsorbent dose on Pb(II) removal was stud-
ied by agitating 50 ml of 10 to 50 mg l−1 solution of Pb(II)
containing different doses of adsorbent (10–100 mg) for a
period of 2 h. The effect of pH on Pb(II) removal was stud-
ied by using 50 ml of 20 and 40 mg l−1 solutions of Pb(II),
adjusted to initial pH 2 to 6 and agitated with 30 and 50 mg
of adsorbent for 2 h. The rate of removal of Pb(II) with dif-
ferent particle sizes was studied by agitating 50 ml of 20 and
40 mg l−1 of Pb(II) solutions with 30 and 50 mg of adsorbent
of particle size 75–850 µm for a period of 2 h.
The thermodynamic effect was studied by agitating
40 mg l−1 of Pb(II) solution with 50 mg of adsorbent at tem-
perature 35, 40, and 45 ◦ C for a time period of 2 h.
Adsorption of Pb(II) on the walls of glass flasks and cen-
Value trifuge tubes, which was found negligible, was determined
by running blank experiments. Each experiment was carried
7.2
41 out in duplicate and the average results are presented in this
Nil work.
4.26
265.96 2.6. Desorption studies
15.0
53–850
Nil After adsorption experiments, a 30 mg l−1 solution of
0.6236 Pb(II)-laden carbon was separated out by filtration and the
1.9607 filtrate was discarded. The carbon was given a gentle wash
51.022 with deionized water to remove any unadsorbed Pb(II). Des-
0.1605
orption studies were carried out using those carbon samples
 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313
agitated with 50 ml of HCl of various strengths (0.005–
0.04 M).
2.7. Adsorption isotherms
Adsorption isotherms describe how adsorbate interacts
with adsorbents and equilibrium is established between ad-
sorbed metal ions on the adsorbent and the residual metal
ions in the solution during the surface adsorption. Equilib-
rium isotherms are measured to determine the capacity of
the adsorbent (CSC) for metal ions. The most common types
of models describing this type of system are the Langmuir,
Freundlich, and Tempkin models. There are other equations
available for analyzing experimental sorption equilibrium
data, including the Toth, the Dubnin–Redushkevich, and the
Redlich–Peterson isotherms.
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of agitation time and initial Pb(II) concentration
on CSC
Fig. 1 shows the effect of agitation time on Pb(II) adsorp-
tion by CSC. The figure reveals that increased agitation time
increased the uptake of lead ions and attained equilibrium in
105 min for 10 and 20 mg l−1 Pb(II) and 120 min for 30, 40,
and 50 mg l−1 Pb(II) solutions. The removal curves are sin-
gle, smooth, and continuous, indicating the possibility of the
formation of monolayer coverage of Pb(II) at the outer sur-
face of CSC [9]. The equilibrium time required for the metal
ion is very short. According to the results, the equilibrium
time was fixed at 2 h for the rest of the batch experiments to
make sure that equilibrium is reached. The majority of Pb(II)
was removed within the first 30 min. Similar results have
also been reported for the removal of Pb(II) ions [14,16].
The percent removal was found to be 92.5, 91, 89.7, 84.95,
and 76.9 at the initial concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40, and
50 mg l−1 of Pb(II) solutions, respectively.
Fig. 1. Effect of agitation time and initial concentration of Pb(II) on CSC.
Conditions: pH 4.5; carbon dosage 50 mg/50 ml.
309
3.2. Effect of carbon concentration on metal ion adsorption
The effect of adsorbent dosage on the percent removal
of Pb(II) at various initial Pb(II) concentrations is shown in
Fig. 2.
The experimental results revealed that Pb(II) removal ef-
ficiency increases up to the optimum dosage, beyond which
the removal efficiency does not change with the adsor-
bent dosage. As expected, the equilibrium concentration de-
creases with increasing adsorbent doses for a given initial
Pb(II) concentration, because for a fixed initial solute con-
centration, increasing adsorbent dose provide a greater sur-
face area or more adsorption sites [17]. It is evident that for
the quantitative removal of 10 and 20 mg l−1 of Pb(II) in
50 ml, minimum carbon content of 30 and 40 mg is required
for 99 and 96% removal, respectively.
3.3. Effect of initial pH on Pb(II) removal
pH is one of the most important environmental factors
influencing not only site dissociation, but also the solution
chemistry of the heavy metals: hydrolysis, complexation by
organic and/or inorganic ligands, redox reactions, and pre-
cipitation are strongly influenced by pH and, on the other
hand, strongly influence the speciation and adsorption avail-
ability of heavy metals [18]. Fig. 3 presents the effect of
initial pH on the removal of Pb(II) by CSC. It is clear that
Fig. 2. Effect of carbon dosage on Pb(II) removal. Conditions: pH 4.5; con-
tact time 2 h.
Fig. 3. Effect of pH on Pb(II) removal. Conditions: carbon dosage,
30 mg/50 ml for Pb(II) 20 mg l−1 and 50 mg/50 ml for Pb(II) 40 mg l−1 ;
contact time 2 h.
310 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313

Fig. 4. Effect of particle size on Pb(II) removal. Conditions: carbon dosage,

30 mg/50 ml for Pb(II) 20 mg l−1 and 50 mg/50 ml for Pb(II) 40 mg l−1 ;
contact time 2 h.
Fig. 5. Effect of HCl concentration on Pb(II) desorption. Conditions: carbon
CSC is effective for the quantitative removal of Pb(II) at dosage 50 mg/50 ml; concentration of Pb(II) 30 mg l−1 ; agitation time 2 h.
pH 4.5. Above and below this pH, extent of adsorption of
Pb(II) was found to be quite low. Above pH 5.5, Pb(II) starts bon. The effect of HCl concentration on the desorption of
precipitating as Pb(OH)2 and hence studies in this range are Pb(II) is represented in Fig. 5. The maximum desorption of
not conducted. Significant adsorption of Pb(II) was observed Pb (II) was 75% with 0.02 M HCl. The effectiveness of HCl
above pH 3. The ion exchange mechanism between H+ ions solution is due to a combination of H+ attack, which pro-
at the CSC surface and metal ion may follow two reactions motes displacement, and conversion of Pb(II) species into
[19], chlorocomplex formation. Quantitative desorption clearly
2(S-COH) + M2+ ↔ (S-CO)2 M + 2H+ , indicates that the mechanism of adsorption is ion exchange.
S-COH + MOH+ ↔ S-COMOH + H+ ,
where S is the CSC surface. The perusal of the Pb(II) specia- 3.6. Adsorption kinetics
tion diagram indicates that in the highest sorption range, the
dominant species of adsorption are Pb2+ and PbOH+ [13]. The kinetics of Pb(II) adsorption and the heterogeneous
In acidic solution, the surface being positively charged, the equilibrium between the Pb(II) solution and the CSC may be
adsorption of Pb2+ and Pb(OH)+ species are not favored. expressed as [20]
Because electrostatic attraction between positively charged k
adsorbent surfaces and positively charged metal ion surfaces A ⇐⇒
1
B, (1)
k2
is not possible, it seems that some nonelectrostatic forces are
involved in adsorption. where k1 = the forward reaction rate constant and k2 = the
backward reaction rate constant.
3.4. Effect of particle size If a is the initial concentration of lead and x is the amount
transferred from liquid phase to solid phase at any time t,
The effect of particle size on uptake of Pb(II) was stud- then the rate is
ied with different sizes from 75 to 850 µm. Fig. 4 shows dx −d(a − x)
that the percent removal of Pb(II) increases from 42 to 99% = = k(a − x) (2)
dt dt
as the particle size decreases from 850 to 75 µm for an ini- or
tial concentration of 20 mg l−1 Pb(II) solution. The extent of
the adsorption process increases with increased specific sur- 1 a
k= ln , (3)
face area. The specific surface available for adsorption will t (a − x)
be greater for smaller particles and hence percent removal where k is the overall reaction rate constant. Since k1 and k2
of metal increases as particle size decreases. For larger par- are the rate constants for the forward and reverse processes,
ticles the diffusional resistance to mass transport is higher the rate can be expressed as
and most of the internal surface of the particle may not be
utilized for adsorption. Consequently the amount of Pb(II) dx
= k1 (a − x) − k2 x. (4)
adsorbed is small. dt
If Xe represents the concentration of lead adsorbed at equi-
3.5. Desorption studies librium, then at equilibrium, K1 (a −Xe )−k2 Xe = 0 because
under these conditions
Desorption studies help to elucidate the adsorption mech-
anism. The desorption process allows the recovery of pre- dx Xe k1
= 0 or KC = = , (5)
cious metals from wastewater and regeneration of the car- dt a − Xe k2
 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313 311

where kC is the equilibrium constant. Now under equilib- higher than the backward rate constants for the desorption
rium conditions, the over all rate becomes process.
1 Xe
k1 + k2 = ln . (6) 3.7. Adsorption isotherms
t Xe − x
The above equation can be written in the form of 3.7.1. Langmuir model
The Langmuir adsorption model is based on the assump-
ln(1 − Ut ) = −(k1 + k2 )t = −kt, (7)
tion that maximum adsorption corresponds to a saturated
where Ut = x/Xe and k is the overall rate constant. Further, monolayer of solute molecules on the adsorbent surface. The

 Langmuir equation can be described by the linearized form
k1 1
k = k1 + k2 = k1 + = k1 1 + . (8) [20]
kC kC
Ut can be calculated using the expression Ce /qe = 1/Q0 b + Ce /Q0 . (10)

CA(0) − CA(t ) x The linear plot of specific sorption (Ce /qe ) against the
= = Ut ,
CA(0) − CA(e) Xe
where CA(0) = the initial concentration of lead, CA(t ) = the
concentration of lead present at any time (t), and CA(e) =
the concentration of lead present at equilibrium, where Ut
is called the fractional attainment of equilibrium of lead and
is calculated by considering lead adsorption over the adsor-
bent in a given time range of 1–24 h. In the present study a
concentration of lead over the range 10 to 50 mg l−1 was
examined and the rate constants were calculated by plot-
ting ln[1 − Ut ] vs t (Fig. 6). The overall rate constant k for
a given concentration of lead was calculated by consider-
ing the slope of straight line in Fig. 6. By using Eqs. (5)
and (8), the equilibrium constant KC and the forward and
backward rate constants k1 and k2 were calculated. The val-
ues are shown in Table 2. From Table 2, it can be seen that
the forward rate constants for the removal of lead were much
(9) equilibrium concentration (Ce ) shows that the adsorption
obeys the Langmuir model in Fig. 7. The adsorption capac-
ity Q0 and energy of adsorption b were determined from the
slope and intercept of the plot and are presented in Table 3.
The essential characteristics of the Langmuir isotherm can
be expressed in terms of a dimensionless constant separa-
tion factor R L that is given by equation
RL = 1/(1 + bC0 ). (11)
RL values between 0 and 1 indicate favorable adsorption of
Pb(II) on CSC at the concentration studied.
3.7.2. Freundlich model
The Freundlich adsorption isotherm represents the rela-
tionship between the amount of metal adsorbed per unit mass
of the adsorbent qe and the concentration of the metal in so-
lution at equilibrium.

Fig. 6. Kinetics of adsorption of Pb(II) on CSC. Conditions: carbon dosage Fig. 7. Langmuir plot for adsorption of Pb(II) on CSC. Conditions: pH 4.5;
50 mg/50 ml; pH 4.5. carbon dosage 50 mg/50 ml; concentration of Pb(II) 50 mg l−1 .

Table 2 Table 3
Rate constant for the removal of Pb(II) on CSC Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm constants

Pb(II) Overall rate Forward rate Backward rate Concentration Langmuir Freundlich
concentration constant k = k1 + k2 constant constant (mg l−1 ) Q0 b RL R2 KF n R2
(mg l−1 ) (min−1 ) k1 (min−1 ) k2 (min−1 ) (mg g−1 ) (l mg−1 )
10 0.02854 0.0264 0.00214 10 06.12 2.82 0.034 0.9955 22.38 3.7 0.8964
20 0.05103 0.0464 0.00459 20 12.64 1.50 0.032 0.9972 19.12 3.4 0.9315
30 0.01599 0.0143 0.00164 30 18.01 0.75 0.043 0.9955 15.25 2.8 0.8855
40 0.01994 0.0169 0.00300 40 23.68 0.15 0.048 0.9983 17.61 3.7 0.9416
50 0.02854 0.0219 0.00660 50 26.51 1.00 0.020 0.9996 06.01 1.8 0.9692
312 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313
Fig. 8. Freundlich adsorption isotherm for removal of Pb(II) on CSC. Con-
ditions: pH 4.5; concentration of Pb(II) 50 mg l−1 .
The Freundlich adsorption isotherm [20] is
1/n
qe = KF Ce .
The equation can be linearized by taking logarithms to find
the parameters KF and n:
log qe = log KF + (1/n) log Ce .
The logarithmic plot of the Freundlich expression
(Eq. (13)) for the amount of Pb(II) adsorbed per unit mass of
the adsorbent (qe ) and the concentration of Pb(II) at equilib-
rium (Ce ) is shown in Fig. 8. Examination of the data shows
that the Freundlich isotherm provides a good description of
the data over the concentration range (10–50 mg l−1 ). The
values of KF and n were calculated from the slope and inter-
cept of the plot. Table 3 shows the Freundlich constant and
linear correlation coefficient.
3.7.3. Tempkin model
Heat of adsorption and the adsorbate–adsorbate interac-
tion on adsorption isotherms were studied by Tempkin and
Pyzhev [21], who suggested that because of these interac-
tions the energy of adsorption of all the molecules decreases
linearly with coverage.
The Tempkin isotherm has been used in the form
qe = RT /z(ln ACe )
and linearized as
qe = B ln A + B ln Ce ,
where B = RT /z. The adsorption data can be analyzed ac-
cording to Eq. (15) and the constant B determines the heat
of adsorption.
The investigation of adsorption data shows that heat of
adsorption increases with increase in temperature, favoring
endothermic adsorption (Table 4).
Table 4
Thermodynamic parameters and Tempkin isotherm constant for the adsorp-
tion of Pb(II) on CSC
Temperature Equilibrium
G Tempkin isotherm constant
(◦ C) constant K (kJ mol−1 ) B (l g-1 ) z (J mol−1 )
35 2.9802 −2.796 −20.36 −125.77
40 5.0760 −4.227 −13.86 −187.76
45 9.3816 −5.919 −08.75 −302.19
3.8. Effect of temperature on the adsorption rate
Increase of temperature from 35 to 45 ◦ C increased the
sorption of Pb(II) from 78.15 to 91%, indicating the process
to be endothermic. The increases in uptake of Pb(II) with
temperature may be due to the desolvation of the adsorbing
species, the changes in the size of pores, and the enhanced
rate of intraparticle diffusion of adsorbate, as diffusion is an
endothermic process.
The specific rate constant Kad for the adsorption of Pb(II)
onto CSC was determined using the Lagergren equation,
(12)
log(qe − q) = log qe − Kad t/2.303. (16)
Linear plots of log(qe − q) vs t indicate the applicability
of the above equation and explain that the process follows
(13) first-order kinetics. The values of Kad determined from the
slope of the plots (derived by linear regression analysis) are
found to be 1.483 × 10−2 and 2.294 × 10−2 min−1 at 35
and 45 ◦ C, respectively. These values suggest that sorption
is faster at higher temperatures.
The activation energy Ea for the adsorption of Pb(II) on
CSC was determined using the Arrhenius equation,
log k2 /k1 = Ea (T2 − T1 )/2.303 · R · T2 · T1 . (17)
The energy of activation calculated from the rate constants at
two different temperatures using the above equation is found
to be 35.528 kJ mol−1 , suggesting the possibility of strong
binding surface sites of the sorbent.
The mechanism of adsorption may be determined through
other thermodynamic quantities such as change in free en-
ergy (
G), change in enthalpy of adsorption (
H ), and
change in entropy (
S). The thermodynamic equilibrium
constant K for the sorption was determined by Khan and
Singh [22] by plotting qe /Ce vs Ce and extrapolating to
zero qe . The increase in K with increase in temperature in-
(14) dicate the endothermic nature of the process. The
G,
H ,
and
S were calculated using the equations

G = −RT ln K, (18)
(15) ln K =
S/R −
H /RT . (19)
A plot of ln K vs 1/T was found to be linear (Fig. 9),
H
and
S determined from the slope and intercept of the plot
are 93.42 kJ mol−1 and 312.27 J mol−1 K−1 , respectively.
The negative values of
G indicate the process to be fea-
sible and adsorption to be spontaneous. The positive values
of
H and
S indicate that the adsorption interaction is
 M. Sekar et al. / Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 279 (2004) 307–313
Fig. 9. Van’t Hoff isotherm for adsorption of Pb(II) on CSC. Conditions:
pH 4.5; Pb(II) concentration 40 mg l−1 ; carbon dosage 50 mg/50 ml.
endothermic and there is increased randomness at the solid
solution interface during the adsorption of Pb(II) on CSC
(Table 4).
3.9. Conclusion
From the foregoing experiment we have concluded that
activated carbon prepared from coconut shell is an efficient
adsorbent for removing Pb(II) from aqueous solution. In
batch mode studies, the adsorption was dependent on solu-
tion pH, initial Pb(II) concentration, and adsorbent dose. Ad-
sorption of Pb(II) onto CSC followed Langmuir, Freundlich,
and Tempkin isotherm models. The kinetics of adsorption of
Pb(II) on CSC follows first-order reversible kinetics. Kinetic
data would be useful for the fabrication and designing of
wastewater treatment plants. The results obtained with CSC
may be tested using metal-industry wastewater containing
Pb, since CSC is an inexpensive source and therefore may
have the advantage of economic viability.
Acknowledgments
The authors wishes to express thanks to the Secretary, the
Principal, and the management of N.G.M. College, Pollachi,
India for providing all the facilities to carry out this research
work.
313
Appendix A. Nomenclature
A Tempkin isotherm constant
B Tempkin isotherm energy constant (l g−1 )
b Energy of adsorption (l mg−1 )
C0 Initial concentration of adsorbate (mg l−1 )
Ce Equilibrium concentration of adsorbate (mg l−1 )
K Equilibrium constant
KF , n Freundlich isotherm constants
Q0 Adsorption capacity (mg g−1 )
q Amount adsorbed at time t (mg g−1 )
qe Amount adsorbed at equilibrium time (mg g−1 )
RL Equilibrium parameter
V Volume (ml)
z Tempkin isotherm energy of adsorption (J mol−1 )
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