In vitro, in vivo studies of Cu(II)-exchanged montmorillonite for the removal of lead (Pb)

The ability of Cu(II)-exchanged montmorillonite (CEM) to adsorb lead (Pb) from aqueous was studied at different optimized conditions including shaking time, pH and initial concentration. The amount of CEM necessary to remove lead from solution was about 0.1 g for 100–200 mg/L lead in pH 4.0 solution. The maximum adsorption was 30 min of shaking time using CEM as adsorbent. By increasing pH, the adsorption of lead onto CEM increased, the maximum adsorption = 96%. Animal experiment of this study also indicated that with the addition of CEM to the lead-contaminated diet of pig, lead excretion in faeces were increased significantly (P<0.01), tissue lead levels were reduced significantly (P<0.05), and growth performance of pigs were improve obviously (P<0.05). Thus, the use of CEM as a Pb-expellant in animal's diets was safe for animals and for consumers.