Isotherm Studies of the Biosorption of Pb (II) and Cu (II) Using Chicken Feather

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the adsorption isotherm (Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin Radushkevich adsorption isotherm) of Pb(II) and Cu(II) in order to determine the  maximum adsorption capacity of chicken feather, CF. Equilibrium sorption of Pb(II) and Cu(II) using homogeneously sized Chicken Feather (CF) was carried out and the physico-chemical properties of the feathers were determined. Results revealed that the maximum biosorption capacity of Pb(II) and Cu(II) by the chicken feather from Langmuir isotherm model were 79.36 and 61.92 mg/g respectively. Separation factor RL were 0.195 and 0.018 indicating a favourable adsorption process. Mean free energy (E) from Dubinin Radushkevich isotherm model were 1.291 and 0.102 KJ/mol for Pb(II) and Cu(II) respectively, indicating a physical adsorption process. Negative standard Gibbs free energy (ΔG) obtained indicated that the Pb(II) biosorption process was spontaneous and thermodynamically feasible.