Impact of environmental conditions on the sorption behavior of Pb(II) onto attapulgite

This paper examined the application of attapulgite as an adsorbent for the removal of Pb(II) from heavy metal-contaminated water under various conditions. The sorption results indicated that the sorption of Pb(II) on attapulgite was strongly dependent on ionic strength at pH 10.0 was mainly dominated by inner-sphere surface complexation. The sorption of Pb(II) on attapulgite was affected by foreign ions in solution at pH 7.0. The thermodynamic parameters (Δ H °, Δ S ° and Δ G °) were evaluated from the temperature-dependent sorption isotherms, and the results indicated that the sorption process of Pb(II) on attapulgite was spontaneous and endothermic in nature.