Journal of Environment and Earth Science www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3216 (Paper) ISSN 2225-0948 (Online) Vol.8, No.12, 2018 159 Adsorption of Heavy Metals by Reed (Phragmites australis) as a Potential Clean Water Technology Abdalhadi Deghles 1* , Ahmad Abu-Obaid 2 , Raed Alkowni 2 , Munjeda Tahseen Salman 2 1 Graduate Studies Department, The University of Al-Istiqlal, PO box 10, Jericho, Palestine 2 Chemistry Department, An-Najah National University, PO box 7, Nablus, Palestine *Email of corresponding author: daghlas2014@pass.ps Abstract In this study the adsorption behavior of reed tissues has been investigated in a batch system in order to determine its applicability in treating wastewater. The optimum conditions for the treatment process were investigated by observing the influence of organ of plant (leaf, stem, root), pH levels, the presence of competing ions, initial concentration and of the reed tissues. The results indicated that the adsorption capacity was strongly affected by the initial concentration, pH levels and organ of plant. Optimum adsorption of Pb (II) was observed at pH 7.0, initial Pb(II) concentration 20 mg/L, temperature 25-45 0 C and contact time 30 minute. It has a good fit for the Freundlich compared with Langmuir isotherm models. As well as, Pseudo second – order kinetic model was fit better than pseudo first order model. Phragmites Australia shows that it is feasible for this plant material as a novel adsorbent for Pb(II) removal in the future. Key words: Reed tissues, Pb(II), Adsorption, Freundlich, Langmuir; Stem. 1. Introduction Groundwater is considered a vital source of drinking water. Even worse, this source is now decreasing due to the continuous pollution resulting from industrial technologies, urban, agricultural, and human activities, chiefly in the third world countries (Robert (2008); Fu & Wang (2011) ). Moreover, these actions have led to the continuous disposal of huge quantities of wastewater to the environment. This wastewater contains a notable concentration of heavy metal ions which has constituted a significant potential threat to human health (Garcia- Reyes &Rangel-Mendez (2010); Demirbas (2008)). Their potential for health effects in at least two major ways: first, by environmental transport, that is, by human or anthropogenic contributions to air, water, soil, and food, and second by altering the speciation or biochemical form of the element (Beijer. & Jernelov1986). The concept of heavy metal ions refers to the elements having atomic weights between 63.5 and 200.6, and specific gravity more than 5.0 such as transition elements (Srivastava & Majumde 2008). Toxic heavy metals of particular concern in treatment of wastewaters include copper, iron, nickel, cadmium and lead. Copper is essential for animal metabolism. But the extreme ingestion of copper brings about serious toxicological concerns, such as vomiting, cramps, convulsions, or even death (Paulino et al.2006). Nickel exceeding its critical level might bring about serious lung and kidney problems aside from gastrointestinal distress, pulmonary fibrosis and skin dermatitis and it is known that nickel is human carcinogen (Borba et al. 2006). Cadmium has been classified by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen. Cadmium exposes human health to severe risks. Chronic exposure of cadmium results in kidney dysfunction and high levels of exposure will result in death. Lead can cause central nervous system damage. Lead can also damage the kidney, liver and reproductive system, basic cellular processes and brain functions. The toxic symptoms are anemia, insomnia, headache, dizziness, irritability, weakness of muscles, hallucination and renal damages (Naseem & Tahir 2001). Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the world. Our bodies need iron to help oxygen get to our muscles, but it is toxic when large amounts in the form of too many iron pills are taken into the body (Wang et al. 2009). In this context, it should be pointed out that most of heavy metal ions salts are very soluble in aqueous solutions. Hence, it is not easy to separate these ions from aqueous solutions or wastewater using simple separation processes (Hussein et al. 2004). Moreover, for the reason that these ions are persistent in the environment and are not being degradable to form harmless products, it is of primary safety concerns to treat and remove these toxic ions from all wastewater effluents before their disposal to the environment (Egila et al. 2011). Recently to brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by International Institute for Science, Technology and Education (IISTE): E-Journals