Rice husk: green adsorbent for Pb(II) and Cr(VI) removal from aqueous solution—column study and GA–NN modeling

Due to the harmful effects of heavy metal ions such as lead, chromium, and others, an economic and eco-friendly removal process using green adsorbent is required to make water bodies safe. Rice husk is used as an adsorbent in continuous column mode for the removal of Pb(II) and Cr(VI) ions. The variations of column process parameters like influent metal concentration, bed height, the rate of flow, etc., are investigated to study the breakthrough behavior. The higher bed height but lower flow rate and influent concentration give the better result. The experimental data fitted well to that of the empirical models. The Thomas model and Yoon–Nelson model fit the experimental data well. GA–ANN-based hybrid network has been used for modeling purpose.