Ricinus communis pericarp activated carbon as an adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solution and industrial wastewater

Activated carbon prepared from the pericarp of Ricinus communis was used to adsorb Pb(II) from aqueous solutions. Batch mode adsorption experiments were carried out by changing contact time, metal-ion concentration, carbon concentration and pH to assess kinetic and equilibrium parameters. The adsorption data were modelled by using both Langmuir and Freundlich classical adsorption isotherms. The adsorption capacity (Q0) calculated from the Langmuir isotherm was 35.08 mg/g of activated carbon at initial pH 5.0±0.2 and the particle size ranging from 125 to 250 μm.