PRODUCTION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM RICE HUSKS AND ITS ADSORPTION CHARACTERISTIC FOR Pb2+ ION

Currently, the method in removing of heavy metals is expensive. Activated carbon as
adsorbent is abundantly available and cheap compare to the other. In wastewater
treatment, the adsorption process is effective in removal of heavy metals at trace level.
Conventional waste treatment methods like coagulation, chemical oxidation have not
been successful because these methods are stable to light, oxidizing agents, while
adsorption has come out as the cheapest, most profitable and most efficient one. The
potential of the rice husks as the activated carbon was studied using Pb2+ ions as the
heavy metal treated. This study is aimed to study the feasibility ofusing activated carbon
from rice husks as industrial adsorbent to remove lead from its aqueous solution. These
objectives were achieved via batch experiment whereby a set ofmetal solution is added
with the activated carbon produced and the adsorption test was carried out. Atomic
Absorption Spectrometry (A.A.S) was used to determine the concentration of the
identified metal in the particular solution. In addition, the effect of the initial rice husks
particles size, carbonization temperature and duration, effect ofpH for activation process,
and percentage yield are studied. At the end of the experiment, the particle size of
250um, with carbonization temperature of 700°C andduration of 1 hour, pHvalue of 12
for activation process was determined to be the best parameters in order to produce the
most efficient activated carbon in this experiment.