Evaluation of the adsorbent properties of Gegu-Egba clay in the removal of Cu<sup>2+</sup/, Fe³⁺ Pb<sup>2+</sup/ Mn²⁺ and Zn²⁺ from polluted Ekeremor River water In Ekeremor Local Government Headquarters, Bayelsa State, Ni

Abstract

Water samples were collected from different locations from the Ekeremore river, a tributary of river forcados located in Ekeremor town at Latitude 5.7833˚E and Longitude 5.0500˚N, headquarters of Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The water was kept in clean dried plastic bottles which had been previously treated with HNO₃ and thoroughly washed and rinsed with deionized, distilled water. The water samples were passed through Whatman filter paper Nol to remove the suspended particle. The samples of the river water were treated with clay obtained from Gegu-Egba. Kogi State and the effect of change in the concentration of the clay as adsorbent, contact time and pH were studied in order to evaluate the adsorbent property of the clay. The initial concentration (C₀) of the five selected heavy metals (Cu²⁺, Fe³⁺, Pb²⁺, Mn²⁺ and Zn²⁺] were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The result showed that the values of Fe³⁺ and Pb²⁺ exceeded the permissible limit for drinking. The results also show that iron (Fe³⁺) was the most adsorbed metal ion (99.92%) at the optimum concentration of the adsorbent and the affinity for the various heavy metal studied was Fe³⁺ > Pb²⁺ >Mn²⁺ Cu²⁺ >Zn²⁺ and it followed the Freundlich isotherm. Whereas equilibrium was reached in 0.5 minutes for the heavy metals Fe³⁺. Cu²⁺. Pb²⁺. Mn²⁺, pH had no effect on the adsorption of the metal ions by the clay. The results obtained showed that Gegu-Egba clay possesses good adsorbent properties which can be exploited for treatment of polluted water with the metal ions studied.