Adsorption of Lead and Copper by a Carbon Black and Sodium Bentonite Composite Material: Study on Adsorption Isotherms and Kinetics

The efficiency of using a composite of carbon black and sodium bentonite in treating drinking water contaminated with lead and copper ions was analysed. The effects of pH, contact time, concentration and adsorbent dosage using an adsorbent composite of 20 % sodium bentonite and 80 % carbon black were studied. The adsorption data was tested with respect to Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms. The data fit well with the Langmuir isotherm model with high coefficients of determination for both metal ions adsorption. The adsorption kinetics follows a pseudo second-order model for both metal ions. The maximum metal ion uptake (qmax) of the composite adsorbent is 7.69 and 0.80 mg/g for lead and copper respectively.