ABSTRACT
126This chapter intends to establish the kinetics of the adsorption of one of the toxic heavy metals, Pb2+ by employing nanoparticles of silica (SiO2) as an adsorbent in wastewater treatment. Synthesis of SiO2 particles was done using a three-stage process in which CaCO3 nanoparticles were prepared first as a template. This was followed by treatment of the formed oxide particles with Sodium Silicate (NaSiO3) to give the oxide composite. Finally, the carbonate template was destroyed using HCl. Characterization of the resultant nano particles was done using analytical techniques which include XRD, SEM, and TGA. The kinetics for the adsorption of Pb2+ was studied using the pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, Elovich and Intraparticle diffusion models. Obtained results showed that the adsorption process followed the pseudo-second order kinetics.
