Adsorption of Pb(II) on a composite material prepared from polystyrene-alumina and activated carbon: Kinetic and thermodynamic studies

The ability of polystyrene-alumina-activated carbon composite as a synthetic adsorbent was investigated for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Various physico-chemical parameters such as pH, initial metal ion concentration, adsorbent dosage and contact time were studied. The optimum solution pH for the maximum adsorption of Pb(II) was found to be 4. Kinetic data were best described by pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption process followed both Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherms at 30 °C. Thermodynamic studies indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic in nature. Desorption studies were carried out by batch and column operations and it was found that 97% Pb(II) could be recovered by the column process using 0.1 M HCl as eluent.