Adsorption isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic studies for the removal of Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions using Albizia lebbeck pods

Powdered adsorbent prepared from Albizia lebbeck pods as agricultural waste has been used for the adsorption of Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) ions from aqueous solutions. The powdered adsorbent was characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller. Effects of various parameters like contact time, solution pH, initial concentration dosage and temperature were investigated on a batch adsorption system. Equilibrium and kinetic experiments were carried out at the optimum pH of 6, 8 and 10 at 29 °C using particle size of 250 μm for Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II) and Cu(II) ions. Changes in free energy, enthalpy and entropy were also evaluated. The adsorption data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model with correlation coefficient ( $$R^{2} > 0.94$$ ), whereas the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics. The thermodynamic parameters proved that adsorption of metal ions is endothermic and non-spontaneous at low temperatures, while spontaneity occurred at higher temperatures. This study shows that powdered Albizia lebbeck pods prove to be a promising inexpensive adsorbent for metal ion removal from aqueous solutions.