AWWA ACE54498

This work studied the adsorption onto two activated carbon cloths (one microporous, the other containing 32% mesoporosity) of three metal ions: Cu 2+ ; Ni 2+; and, Pb 2+ . First, adsorption kinetics and isotherms carried out in a static reactor demonstrated the dependence of adsorption on both adsorbent pore size distribution and metal ion size. The investigation of pH effect allowed an adsorption mechanism to be proposed. This proposal was confirmed by metal ion desorption using 0.1 M HCl. In a second part, the adsorption competition between two metal ions or between a metal ion and organic matter (benzoic acid) was studied. Two cases were considered: organic matter in solution; and, organic matter loaded onto the activated carbon cloth. Results obtained are discussed in terms of pH conditions. Includes 12 references, tables, figures.