Removal of Copper (II) Ions in Aqueous Solutions by Sorption onto Alkali Activated Fly Ash

Fly ash is a particulate material produced from coal combustion power plants with major components are silica, alumina, iron oxide, calcium oxide, magnesium oxide, and carbon which are ideal for metal adsorbents. The potential use of fly ash in the wastewater treatment process is obvious because it can be obtained cheaply in large quatities and it can be used as an adsorbent. However, fly ash still shows lower adsorption capacity unless it is activated. In this study, fly ash activated by NaOH 14 M and KOH 14 M solutions. The batch experiments were carried out to study the sorption of copper ions from aqueous on alkali activated fly ash. The influence of initial concentration and contact time were examined at constant pH and dose of adsorbent. The sorption capacity of copper ions increased with the initial concentration and contact time. The sorption capacities followed the order Nal>Kal>FA. The adsorption isotherm model exhibited that the Langmuir model is very suitable with copper ions adsorption onto fly ash and alkali activated fly ash. Kinetic study shows that adsorption of copper ions onto FA, Nal, and Kal follows the pseudo second-order kinetics.