PREPARATION OF ACTIVATED CARBON FROM MORINGA OLEIFERA BARK AND ITS APPLICATIONS FOR ADSORPTION OF Cu(II) FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION

Abstract

Activated carbon was produced from Moringa Oleifera bark by denaturing of H₃PO₄ and Na₂CO₃ (M1), used to remove the Cu(II) from aqueous solution. Some physiochemical characteristics of M1 were studied by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) techniques. The effect of pH (2.0 – 6.0), exposure time (30 - 180 minutes) and the amount of adsorbent (0.025 – 0.20 grams) on Cu(II) adsorption effeciency of M1 were also studied. The results showed that the time to reach equilibrium adsorption and the optimal value of pH and the amount of adsorbent for Cu adsorption process were 5 and 120 minutes and 0.10 grams, respectively. The maximum  monolayer adsorption capacity of M1 was 95.24 mg/g, which means M1 is able to be act as a promissing adsorbent for removing Cu (II) from aqueous solutions.