Abstract
The presence of heavy metals in diverse forms in the environment (which is having a direct and continuous interface with the health of living beings) demands an efficient removal technique which would be cost effective, eco-friendly, easily operable and free of secondary waste. Hence, the useless and discarded leaves of Cissus rotundifolia have been valorized by utilizing it for the removal of heavy metal pollutant after its modification. The developed adsorbent is then characterized through X-ray diffraction study, scanning electron microscope analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and application of mathematical models. The adsorption process was found to follow Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-first-order kinetics. The intraparticle diffusion was found to be the rate limiting step. Besides being usable in batch method, this adsorbent is also applicable to fixed bed column technique, due to its faster kinetics, high hydrophilicity, and easy recovery with mild mineral acid (like 0.002 mol per liter of hydrochloric acid).