Adsorption and desorption behaviour of Pb(II) on a natural kaolin: equilibrium,kinetic and thermodynamic studies

BACKGROUND: Pb(II) is common in both waste‐waters and gas emissions. In developing countries, public health problems have been reported concerning Pb(II) pollution, so that stringent measures are required to deal with it. MAJOR RESULTS: The adsorption and desorption behaviour of Pb(II) has been investigated on a natural Chinese kaolin. Several factors, including initial concentration, pH, equilibration time, dosage and temperature correlated positively with Pb(II) adsorption. The Pb(II) adsorption capacity of natural kaolin was 165.117 mg g^?1. A kinetic study shows that Pb(II) adsorption on purified kaolin equilibrates within 35 min. The enthalpy changes of Pb(II) adsorption on purified kaolin were 63.683, 20.488 and 21.371 kJ mol^?1 with entropy changes 262.250, 112.210 and 105.120 J mol^?1 K^?1 for solutions containing 50, 100 and 200 mg L^?1 Pb(II) respectively, indicating an endothermic and spontaneous adsorption process. The desorption of Pb(II) from kaolin was difficult with more than 85% Pb(II) removal. Based on X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, the Pb(II) adsorption on natural and purified kaolin was attributed mainly to the magnesite component and complexation with the mineral surface. CONCLUSIONS: Natural kaolin exhibits a satisfactory performance for adsorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution. The optimum conditions for adsorption were: ionic strength = 0.01 mol L^?1; pH ≥ 7.2; dosage = 10 g L^?1; temperature = 25 °C; duration ≥ 16 h (C_i = 80 mg L^?1); and the optimum conditions for desorption were ionic strength = 0.1 mol L^?1 and pH ≤ 5.0. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry