ABSTRACT
Copper is essential to human life and health, but like all heavy metals, it is potentially toxic, especially at high concentration. Copper and its compounds are ubiquitous in the environment and are thus found frequently in surface waters. Activated carbon is the generic term used to describe a family of carbonaceous adsorbents with highly crystalline forms and extensively developed internal pore structures. Activated carbon has been proven to be an effective adsorbent for the removal of a wide variety of organic and inorganic pollutants dissolved in aqueous media or from a gaseous environment. Activated carbon has been a popular choice as an adsorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous as well as wastewater, but its high cost poses an economical problem. This chapter attempts to cover a wide range of solid agricultural waste materials as adsorbents to get an idea about the various types of agricultural materials used for the removal of copper ions from water and wastewater.
