Muhammad Shafiq

The efficiency of a new composite material of the layered double hydroxide (LDH) of ZnMgAl and rice husk biochar (RHB) for the removal of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions from synthetic wastewater was investigated in this study. The images of the scanning electron microscope showed extremely fine crystalline LDH particles decorated on the rough surface of the RHB, while the successful formation of the composite adsorbent (LDH/RHB) was confirmed by the corresponding energy dispersive X-ray and the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. An equilibrium contact time of 30 and 15 min for Cu2+ and Pb2+, respectively, was proposed for the optimum performance of the batch adsorption process. The dose of the LDH/RHB adsorbent was optimized at 0.4 g L−1 yielding maximum adsorption capacities of 117 and 124 mg g−1 for Cu2+ and Pb2+, respectively, with corresponding maximum removal efficiencies of nearly 94% and 99%. A solution pH of 6.0 yielded optimum results with an increasing trend in adsorption capacities and percentage removal by changing the solution pH from 2.0 to 7.0. Based on the best fit of the pseudo-second-order kinetic model to the experimental data, chemisorption was suggested to be the controlling mechanism of adsorption. The fitting of the Langmuir model suggested a monolayer sorption of Cu2+ and Pb2+, and the application of the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm proposed physical adsorption.