Removal of Lead from Aqueous Solution by Palm Kernel Fibre

Abstract

The sorption of lead on palm kernel fibre, an agricultural waste product, has been studied. The sorption process was studied as a function of initial lead concentration and initial solution pH. The percentage lead removal was found to increase with increasing initial solution pH up to pH 5 and then to decrease as pH was increased to 6. The pseudo-second order kinetic rate model was employed in the analysis of the kinetics of lead uptake onto the palm kernel fibre. The results show that the pseudo-second order model fits the experimental data with high coefficients of determination (r²). The equilibrium sorption capacity was found to be 33.33 mg g^–1 when 1.0 g of fibre was contacted with 90 mg dm^–3 of lead solution at pH 5. Mathematical expressions were derived to relate the pseudo-second order rate constant, k, and the change in solution pH with initial lead concentration.

Keywords: Palm kernel fibre, kinetics, lead(II), sorption, change in solution pH.