Simulation of Lead Ions Adsorption onto the Iron-Coated Medium: Dependent on Temperature and pH

Heat was employed to coat crystalline goethite onto a quartz sand surface so that the adsorbent properties of the coating could be utilized. Adsorption experiments were conducted to further demonstrate the adsorption of lead ions by goethite-coated medium under various temperatures and pH, respectively. The adsorption reaction between iron-coated medium and lead ions was simulated by a cation exchange model. Results indicated that the solution temperature and pH had a noticeable effect on the final adsorption capacity for lead ions. The pH-adsorption edges were shifted to lower pH values with increasing temperature. The adsorption reaction between lead ions and goethite-coated medium was an endothermic process. A cation exchange model applied to the regression model of experimental data was fitted very well. A high correlation coefficient ( r2 =0.91) and an extreme low p -value (7.02× 10−82 ) indicated that the variance of dependent variable, adsorption capacity of iron-coated medium could be firmly explained by independent variables such as [ Pb+n ] , temperature and [ H+ ] .