Removal of Heavy Metals (Lead and Nickel) from Water Sources by Adsorption of Activated Alumina

Heavy metals contamination is regarded as an environmental pollutant which could be transferred from water sources to soil, plants, animals and human. This study aimed to investigate the removal of lead and nickel from water sources by activated alumina as a low-cost adsorbent. In this regard, a sample of artificial effluent with concentrations of 5 to 30 mg/l of lead and nickel was prepared. Lead removal efficiency under optimal conditions of 25 mg/l concentration and contact time of 30 minutes was 76%. In this study, optimal adsorption conditions including contact time, pH, concentrations of lead and nickel, adsorbent dose of activated alumina were studied. According to the results, the best adsorption rate in the studied contact times occurred at 30 minutes, while the optimal adsorption rate occurred at pH value of 8 for nickel and 9 for lead. The highest adsorption rate at four adsorbent contents, has been observed at 3 g/l. It has been discovered that the adsorption process of lead and nickel with a correlation coefficient is in the range of 0.97-0.99 by Langmuir and Freundlich model.