Low-cost date palm fiber activated carbon for effective and fast heavy metal adsorption from water: Characterization, equilibrium, and kinetics studies

The removal of heavy metals in an aquatic environment is a crucial problem because the pollution by heavy metals is common in water systems. In this study, a low-cost activated carbon from the waste of date palm fiber (AC-DPF) was prepared for the potential adsorption of lead and copper from simple and binary systems. The surface area of AC-DPF was 1603.496 m²/g. The effect of factors influencing the adsorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by AC-DPF were discussed. The maximum adsorption efficiencies were 92 % and 80 % for Pb(II) and Cu(II), respectively. Furthermore, the AC-DPF adsorption was investigated kinetically and thermodynamically. A good fit of equilibrium results to the Langmuir model was achieved with a maximum adsorption capacity of 29.859 mg/g for Pb (II) and 25.048 mg/g for Cu(II). Competitive and antagonistic effects were observed in the multi-component system. Based on the results, AC-DPF was a highly promising, effective and feasible adsorbent for heavy metal removal potential.