Investigative performance of activated anthill clay on the sorption of lead(II) ion from textile wastewater: Characterization, parametric optimization, isotherm, kinetics and thermodynamics studies

The increase in population have had a negative impact on the water quality environment despite the strong polices implemented on the wastewater treatment as the problem remains demanding. However, it is imperative to secure the environment of aquatic and human life. In this study, Anthill clay was activated with H₂SO₄ to obtain activated Anthill clay (AAC). The adsorbent was analyzed using the state of art techniques. The Brunner emitter teller (BET) surface area of AAC was 228.453 m²/g. The response surface methodology (RSM) was introduced for the optimization of lead (II) ion uptake where the removal efficiency of 92.73% was observed at optimum condition of 35 °C, 0.1g and 10 min respectively. Various adsorption parameter such as pH, temperature, adsorbent dosage and contact time was carried out. The interaction effect between the parameters were investigated. The Jovanovich model and Pseudo second order revealed the adsorption data fitted well for both isotherm and kinetics model. The thermodynamic results showed that the reaction is endothermic, spontaneous, and chemisorption in nature. From the various analysis conducted it can therefore be inferred that anthill clay can be effective and efficient for treatment of harmful substance present in wastewater.