Isotherm, Kinetic and Thermodynamic Studies for the Sorption of Mercury (II) onto Activated Carbon from <i>Rosmarinus officinalis</i> Leaves

The present work deals with the equilibrium adsorption of Hg(II) onto carbonized Rosmarinus officinalis leaves (ACROL) as a new adsorbent from aqueous solution and it has been investigated. ACROL samples were prepared by physical carbonization at 773 K for 1 h. Titration method was used to determine the concentration of Hg(II) before and after adsorption onto ACROL by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, EDTA, as chelating agent. Batch equilibrium studies were carried out under different experimental conditions such as Hg(II) concentration and temperature. The relationship between the amount of Hg(II) onto ACROL can be described using four tow-parameter isotherm models. The equilibrium sorption data were analyzed using Freundlich, Langmuir, Dubinin-Radushkevich (DRK) and Temkin isotherms. The experimental results were found to fit the Langmuir isotherm model with a monolayer adsorption capacity of 588.2 mg/g at 318 K, while they were found to fit the Freundlich isotherm model at 298 K. The KL was decreased with increasing temperature, indicating a bond strength between Hg(II) and ACROL decreased with increasing temperature and sorption is exothermic. From DRK isotherm, free energy, E, was higher than 31 kJ/mol suggesting the Hg(II) adsorption onto ACROL chemical sorption. The thermodynamic studies revealed that the process is spontaneous nature of Hg(II) adsorption by ACROL and exothermic. The findings from this research show that ACROL has capability to remove Hg(II) from aqueous solutions.