Equilibrium Sorption studies of Fe, Cu and Co ions in aqueous medium using activated Carbon prepared from Recinius Communis Linn

Recinius Communis Linn a commonly found herbal plant was used to prepare activated carbon by physicochemical activation method. The sorption capacity of this bio-resource material to remove Fe(III), Cu(II) and Co(II) from aqueous solutions was determined by batch tests. The influences of important parameters such as contact time, dosage, pH, pH zpc, co-ions and temperature on metal adsorption process were investigated. The equilibrium data were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The batch adsorption rate for the sorption process was explained on the basis of intraparticle diffusion. Various thermodynamic parameters likeΔG° , ΔH° and ΔS° were analyzed to observe the nature of adsorption. The metal adsorption process on the surface of adsorbent was verified as a surface phenomenon by performing SEM and XRD analysis.