Influence of Acid Treatments of Sugarcane Bagasse Carbon Sample on the Adsorption of CU (II) and PB (II) Ions from Aqueous Solution

Sugar carbon was prepared from sugarcane bagasse by carbonization with conc. H₂SO₄. Yield was about 20% by weight. The surface of the original unmodified sugar carbon (UM-carbon) was modified by treatment with 2M HCl (SM-A carbon), 2M NaOH (SM-B carbon) and 50% (v/v) HNO₃ (SM-O carbon). Carbon samples were characterized by SEM, FTIR and XRD techniques. Lead and copper adsorption on unmodified and modified sugar carbons from aqueous solution at room temperature (25°C) was studied by batch analysis method. The solution pH was maintained at 5. Nitric acid oxidation of the original sugar carbon increased metal uptake by almost 100% and simple HCl treatment enhanced metal adsorption by about 10%. Adsorption data of both metals fit well in Freundlich adsorption isotherm equation. Lead (II) ions were adsorbed almost in double amounts of copper (II) ions confirming that pore accumulation takes place in addition to ionic interactions in solution.