Original Article |
2013, Vol.35, No.2, pp. 227-233
Phytoremediation of synthetic wastewater by adsorption of lead and zinc onto Alpinia galanga Willd
Vanida Chairgulprasert, Aumikansung Japakeya, and Haseenah Samaae
pp. 227 - 233
Abstract
Adsorption of Pb(II) and Zn(II) from aqueous solution onto a phytosorbent mixture of galangal (Alpinia galanga Willd) leaves and pseudostem has been investigated in a batch system. Removal efficiency was optimized with respect to pH, contact time, initial Pb(II) and Zn(II) concentration and phytosorbent dosage. Galangal exhibited a higher adsorption efficiency for lead (95.2%) than for zinc (66.9%). Both lead and zinc equilibrium sorption data were better represented by the Freundlich isotherm than the Langmuir isotherm and in each case followed second order kinetics.