Adsorption potential of mercury(II) from aqueous solutions onto Romanian peat moss.

This study was undertaken to evaluate the adsorption potential of Romanian peat moss for the removal of mercury(II) from aqueous solutions. The batch system experiments carried out showed that this natural material was effective in removing mercury(II). The analysis of FT-IR spectra indicated that the mechanism involved in the adsorption can be mainly attributed to the binding of mercury(II) with the carboxylic groups of Romanian peat moss. Adsorption equilibrium approached within 60 min. The adsorption data fitted well the Langmuir isotherm model. The maximum adsorption capacity (qmax) was 98.94 mg g(-1). Pseudo-second-order kinetic model was applicable to the adsorption data. The thermodynamic parameters indicate that the adsorption process was spontaneous as the Gibbs free energy values were found to be negative (between -17.58 and -27.25 kJ mol(-1)) at the temperature range of 6-54 degrees C.