Kinetics Studies for the Adsorption of Aqueous Cu (II) and Pb (II) Ions onto Chicken Feather

Adsorption kinetic studies are of great significance to evaluate the performance of a given adsorbent and to gain insight into the underlying mechanism. The sorption kinetics of Pb(II) onto chicken feathers (CF) was investigated. In order to understand the mechanisms of the biosorption process and the potential rate controlling steps, kinetic models were used to fit the experimental data. The results indicated that kinetic data were best described by the pseudo second-order model with a correlation coefficient (R2 ) of 0.999 and 0.998 for Pb(II)/CF and Cu(II)/CF respectively. The experimental uptakes, qexp were much consistent with those calculated/obtained from the pseudo second order model. Biosorbents- Pb(II) kinetics follow the order: pseudo-second order > pseudo-first order > Weber-Moris intra particle diffusion model. The biosorbents also show a good reusability after simple elution with EDTA and HNO3.

Keywords: Kinetics, first order, second order, lead, copper.