Removal of lead(II) from aqueous solutions using rice bran : an agricultural waste

Abstract

Environmental Chemistry Research Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Allahabad, Allahabad-211 002, Uttar Pradesh, India E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] Manuscript received 6 April 2009, revised 26 October 2009, accepted 31 December 2009 In present work, the agricultural waste rice bran Is used as an adsorbent for the removal of lead(ll) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption characteristics of lead(ll) on rice bran were evaluated as a function of pH, temperature, contact time and Initial metal concentration. The effective adsorption was found in the pH range 3.5-4.5. The results reveal that adsorption of lead(ll) onto rice bran Is up to 69% at 100 min adsorption contact time. The optimum temperature for lead(ll) adsorption was found to be 25 ºC. The adsorption data fitted well into Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption Isotherm models. The results show that rice bran holds a great potential in removal of lead(II) from industrial wastewater