Synthesis and characterization of magnetic activated carbon manufactured from palm stones by physical activation to remove lead from aqueous solution

Abstract

Activated carbon (AC) generated from palm date stone through physical activation and magnetic activated carbon (MAC) fabricated through co-precipitation of Fe3O4 were examined for their efficacy in removing lead (II) from aqueous solutions in batch mode. Characterization technic was utilizing (SBET, FTIR, XRD, SEM/ EDS, and VSM). A comparison of AC and MAC was undertaken in terms of adsorbent dosage, initial metal ion concentration, solution pH, shaking speed, and contact time. The results showed that MAC removed more lead than AC at all dosages. At 0.2 mg/g, MAC achieved a clearance effectiveness of 95 %, but AC only achieved 56 %. At higher doses (10 mg/l), MAC had an 88 % clearance efficiency, while AC had 76 %. The equilibrium data for ion sorption fit well with the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Temkin models, with the Freundlich model having the greatest R2 values for both AC and MAC (0.9765 and 0.9932, respectively, for Pb (II). Furthermore, at a low pH of 4, MAC surpassed AC in removal effectiveness by 25.4 %, and at pH 7, both were close to 90 % efficient. This work demonstrates that MAC outperforms AC in lead (II) removal and provides useful insights into the development of effective adsorbents for water treatment applications.

Keywords

• Activated carbon
• magnetic activated carbon
• Lead
• Fe3O4