Agar-agar impregnated on porous activated carbon as a new adsorbent for Pb(II) removal

Abstract

Abstract This paper presents a new sorbent, agar-agar (AA), impregnated on porous activated carbon (AC) – and its Pb(II) sorption properties. The influence of impregnation ratio (AA/AC) on the Pb(II) ion sorption properties is studied in order to optimize this parameter. The developed AC-AA shows substantial capability to sorb Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions and 75% represents the optimal impregnation ratio. The AC-AA sorbent with impregnation ratio of 75% was characterized by a liquid displacement method, point of zero charge pH (pHPZC), scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effect of parameters such as sorbent dosage, pH, agitation time and initial Pb(II) concentration on Pb(II) removal were examined. In addition, sorption kinetics and sorption isotherms were determined. The maximum uptake of Pb(II) was about 242 mg/g at 25 °C, pH 5 and initial Pb(II) concentration of 100 mg/L. The kinetic data were fitted to the models of pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order, and the experimental results follow closely the pseudo-second-order model. The results also reveal that the experimental equilibrium is very close to those predicted by the Freundlich model. The developed AC-AA exhibits high Pb(II) sorption capacity, offering possibilities for future practical use.