Removal of Hg and Pb in Aqueous Solution using Coal Fly Ash Adsorbent

AbstractHg and Pb are considered as toxic metals. They cause serious environmental problem when pollute aquatic system, on the other hand there are many wastes from coal combustion activity especially from thermal power plant. To protect environment, adsorption of Hg and Pb using coal fly ash was proposed. This work purposed to determine the capability of coal fly ash to remove Hg and Pb in aqueous solution. Several laboratory experiments were performed during this work. Isotherm adsorption was done using Hg and Pb concentration in the range of 1-100ppm for fixed mass of coal fly ash.Characterisation of coal fly ash (before and after interaction with Hg and Pb) was done by FTIR to reveal the interaction of Hg and Pb -coal fly ash. The result showed that coal fly ash had capability to remove Hg and Pb. Characterisation of coal fly ash using FTIR revealed the mode ofHg and Pb bond to coal flyash