Efficiency of natural and acid-activated clays in the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions

The adsorption of Pb2+ ions onto Tunisian clay in aqueous solution was studied in a batch system. Four samples of clay (RGC, RRC, AGC, and ARC) were used. The raw RGC and RRC clays were sampled in jebel Tejera-Esghira in Medenine area (Southeast of Tunisia). AGC and ARC corresponds respectively to RGC and RRC activated by GM sulphuric acid. The adsorbents employed were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction, chemical analysis, and the specific surface area was also estimated. The ability of clay samples to remove Pb2+ ions from aqueous solutions has been studied at different operating conditions: temperature and pH. The optimum pH for lead ions retention was found 7.0 for the four clay samples. The effect of temperature on adsorption phenomenon was also investigated. The results indicated that adsorption is an exothermic process for lead ions removal. The equilibrium adsorption data were analysed using the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The adsorption capacities (X-m) for RRC, RGC, ARC and AGC were found 17.84, 25.44, 27.15 and 40.75 mg g(-1), respectively. The performance of the red clay after activation was compared to that of silica gel, which has maximum adsorption of 20 mg g(-1). On the other hand, although the performance of activated carbon (88.3 mg g(-1)) is by far higher than that of the green clay after activation, the latter seems to have better performance than that of the silica gel. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V.