Adsorptive removal ofPb(II) ion from aqueous solution using rice husk-based activated carbon

There are various methods can be used to remove heavy metals from waste
water, such as chemical precipitation, ion exchange, electroplating and membrane
separation. Nevertheless the most effective method would be adsorption using activated
carbon due to its large number of pores. This project will be focusing primarily on rice
husk as potential activated carbon as low cost adsorbent to remove Pb(II) from
wastewater. Preparation of activated carbon involves three steps which are raw rice
husk preparation, activation stage and carbonization stages. Preparation of rice husk
involves grinding to 63 !liD which is then treated with 1.0 M of sodium hydroxide
(NaOH). The treated rice husk is then carbonized at 500°C for 2 hours to remove
volatile organic components. After the activated carbons are produced, extraction study
will be carried out to further study the adsorption capacity. The pores development of
the rice husk was analysed using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope
(FESEM). Other analyses for rice husk based activated carbon were conducted using
TGA, XRD, CHN Elemental Analyser and FTIR for characterisation study on the
particles of rice husk. Pb(II) ion extraction from aqueous solution was done using rice
husk based activated carbon which was conducted at different contact time at room
temperature. The adsorption capacity of Pb(II) ion was determined using Atomic
Adsorption Spectroscopy (AAS). Results obtained from adsorption study indicate that
rice has the potential to be used as adsorbent for heavy metals removal.