Removal of Lead and Copper from Aqueous Solution by grinded Eucalyptus stem

In this work, the feasibility of using grinded eucalyptus stem (GES) as an adsorbent for removal of lead and copper ions from aqueous solution was investigated. Batch adsorption studies were carried out to examine the influence of various parameters such as initial pH, adsorbent dose, initial metal ion concentration, and contact time on the removal. The removal process was relatively fast and equilibrium was reached after about 120 minutes of contact. For both ions the most effective pH range was found to be 5–7 and removal increased with an increase of sorbent dose. The results of adsorption were fitted to both the Langmuir and Freundlich models. Satisfactory agreement between experimental data and the model predicted values was expressed by the correlation coefficient (R2). The Freundlich model represented the adsorption process better than the Langmuir one, with correlation coefficient values as 0.990 and 0.994 for Pb2+ and Cu2+ adsorption, respectively. The results in this study indicated that grinded Eucalyptus stem were very attractive materials for removing Pb2+ and Cu2+ from aqueous solutions.