Affiliation:
1. Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, Jimma University, P.O. Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
Abstract
This study reports on the adsorption of Hexavalent Chromium from aqueous solutions using activated carbon prepared from bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) waste by KOH activation heating in an electrical furnace at 1073 K for 3 hrs. Batch adsorption experiments were also carried out as a function of pH, contact time, initial concentration of the adsorbate, adsorbent dosage, and temperature of the solution. Kinetic studies of the data showed that the adsorption follows the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic parameters showed that adsorption on the surface of BWAC was feasible, spontaneous in nature, and exothermic between temperatures of 298 and 318 K. The equilibrium data better fitted the Freundlich isotherm model for studying the adsorption behavior of Hexavalent Chromium by BWAC. IR spectrum for loaded and unloaded BWAC was obtained using FT-IR spectrophotometer. Adsorption efficiency and capacity of Hexavalent Chromium were found to be 98.28% at pH 2 and 59.23 mg/g at 300 K.