ABSTRACT
T h e rem oval o f to x ic heavy m etals in so lu tion can b e ach ieved th ro u g h th e u se o f G A A and P A A . T h e rem oval o f po lyvalen t m etals in so lu tio n w as ach ieved th ro u g h b a tch iso th erm s and k ine tic te sts . T h ere w as no significant rem oval o f m o n o v a len t m etals such as selenium and silver u sing alum ina. U sing F reund lich iso th erm s, L an g m u ir iso therm s, and k ine tic ra te te s ts it w as d em o n stra te d th a t th e finer p artic le size P A A is m o re effec tive th an co a rse G A A . D ec reased partic le sizes led to inc reased v alues fo r iso th erm co n s tan ts w hich sh o w a g re a te r affinity fo r m etal ad so rp tio n . A lso , d ec reased partic le sizes led to a fa s te r ra te o f ad so rp tio n acco rd in g to k ine tic te sts . T h erefo re , th e u se o f P A A ap p ears to b e th e m o st efficacious m eans o f heavy m etal rem oval. H o w ev er, fo llow ing P A A ad so rp tio n , th e a lum ina m ust be rem o v ed fro m solu tion . C urren tly , stu d ies are u n d erw ay at A u b u rn U n iversity to co u p le P A A ad so rp tio n w ith u ltra -f iltra tio n to y ield a v iab le heavy m etal trea tm e n t techno logy .
