Abstract

This research investigated the efficiency of luffa cylindrica activated carbon as adsorbent material in the removal of iron (II) from the textile industry effluent in a batch adsorption experiment. The adsorption process was studied as a function of contact time, pH of the solution and adsorbent dosage. At room temperature, the batch adsorption experiment showed maximum adsorption of iron (II) at a pH of 6, a contact time of 60 minutes and an adsorbent dosage of 1g/L. The effluent was characterized using the standard method (atomic absorption spectrometry) while the adsorbent was prepared, carbonated and characterized using SEM and FTIR. The SEM findings revealed a highly porous morphology. The FTIR revealed the presence of various functional groups (OH, CH, C=C and C-C). The findings of the batch adsorption experiment were fitted using Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models and Langmuir model gave a better fit. The kinetic data of iron (II) was evaluated using pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The batch adsorption experimental data conforms more to the pseudo-first-order kinetic model.