REMOVAL OF METAL IONS FROM SYNTHETIC WASTEWATER BY ADSORPTION ONTO EUCALYPTUS CAMALDULENIS TREE LEAVES

Eucalyptus Camaldulenis tree leaves were used to study adsorption of several cations (Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+) from wastewater within various experimental conditions. The dried leaves of Eucalyptus Camaldulenis were used at different adsorbent/metal ion ratios. The influence of pH, contact time, metal concentration, and adsorbent loading weight on the removal process was investigated. Batch adsorption studies were carried out at room temperature. The adsorption efficiencies were found to be pH dependent, increasing by increasing the pH in the range from2.5 to 8.5. The equilibrium time was attained after 90-120 minutes and the maximum removal percentage was achieved at an adsorbent loading weight of 1.5 g/50ml mixed ions solution. The removal order was found to be Pb (II)> Cu (II)>Cd (II)> Zn (II).This study is one of the first reports of removal of the highly toxic Cu2+, Zn2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ in mixed systems based on the adsorption by natural materials. The potential of application for the treatment of solutions containing these heavy metals in multimetal solutions is indicated