Impact of chemical activation on the adsorption performance of common reed towards Cu(II) and Cd(II)

The adsorption of Cu(II) and Cd(II) from aqueous solution was studied by Common Reed (CR) activated with different concentrations of H3PO4 (PA) and carbonized at 500 °C under flowing of different atmospheres (nitrogen and air). Activated carbons (ACs) obtained were characterized using FT-IR and N2 adsorption/desorption isotherm. The adsorption data were studied for adsorption isotherms of Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich and Tempkin models. Adsorption of Cu(II) and Cd(II) was best fitted with Dubinin-Radushkevich and Tempkin adsorption isotherms. The best conditions of preparation were 30% PA in the air for Cu(II) adsorption and 50% in N2 for Cd(II)adsorption, with total surface area (SBET) of 1192.85 m2/g and 1181.44 m2/g respectively. The adsorption capacity of Cu(II) and Cd(II) were 47.00 mg/g and 83.43 mg/g respectively. The results indicated that CR could be employed as a low-cost alternative for the removal of heavy metals ions from effluents.