Quick removal of nickel metal ions in water using asphalt-based porous carbon

The prepared oxidized porous carbon (PC-KF) was used as an adsorbent for the uptake of nickel-metal ion from the aqueous solution. The optimum conditions for the removal of nickel were at 8.0 pH, 0.5 ppm (500.0 μg/L) conc., 5.0 min contact time, 0.25 g/L adsorbent dose, 15.0 °C temperature with 99.59% removal of nickel. Adsorption isotherms of Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin were used to analyze the results. The results of these models indicated the multilayers layer adsorption on the heterogeneous surface. Thermodynamic parameters i.e. ΔG°, ΔH° and ΔS° were also calculated. The values of ΔG° were in the range of −6275.90 to −6169.10 J/mol while the values of ΔH° and ΔS° were −45.32 J/mol and 18.80 J/mol·K, respectively; indicating adsorption as spontaneous and exothermic. The adsorption process followed pseudo-second-order kinetics. The developed adsorbent for the removal of Ni(II) is effective and highly efficient. The developed method is effective for the removal of Ni(II) in real wastewater. Therefore, this method may be used for the removal of Ni(II) in wastewater.