Adsorptive removal of noxious cadmium ions from aqueous medium using activated carbon/zirconium oxide composite: Isotherm and kinetic modelling

The heavy metal ions pollution is serious threat for aquatic and terrestrial living beings. The adsorption is facile process to encounter the heavy metal pollution. Various types of adsorbents have been developed and used for environmental remediation. The activated carbon is one of the cheapest adsorbent derived fromvarious biomass sources and coupled with diverse materials to fabricate superior adsorbents. In the present work, datestone activated carbon-based zirconium oxide (DSAC/ZrO2) composite was fabricated and characterized by XRD, SEM, BET and SEM. The surface area, pore volume and average pore diameter of DSAC/ZrO2 were 153.4 m(2) g(-1), 0.04 cm(3) g(-1) and 8.8 nm, respectively. Using batch experiments, sorption of cadmium ions was explored onto DSAC/ZrO2 composite. To have detail insight into sorption process; the isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamic studieswere also performed. The experimental equilibriumdata for cadmiumadsorption using DSAC/ZrO2 composite waswell fitted to the Langmuir isothermmodel and showed the qm 166.7mg/g at 25 degrees C. The negative and positive values of Delta G degrees and Delta H degrees indicated that the adsorption was spontaneous and endothermic, respectively. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.