Effiong O Ekpenyong’s scientific contributions

In this research work, Low-cost adsorbent was prepared from Camellia sinensis, physicochemical characteristics and the effective removal of Lead and Zinc from an aqueous phase were evaluated.The Camellia sinensis adsorbent precursor was characterized in terms of adsorbent dose, initial concentration and contact time. Aqueous phase adsorption studies were carried out under kinetic studies of pseudo first order, pseudo second order kinetics and the residue concentration of Lead and Zinc were determined with the aid of a spectrometer. From the result of this studies, initial concentration has little effect in the removal, at lower concentration, the % removal is higher with just slight difference, in this study, the optimum initial concentration was 0.1 M. At optimal conditions, Lead and Zinc uptake increases with increase in biosorbent dose, in this study the optimum dosage was 2 g. The removal of Lead and Zinc was more than 90% in 10, 20, 30 and 40 minutes of contact time thus, presenting Camellia sinensis as a suitable adsorbent that can be used for effective removal of high Lead and Zinc concentration in water as shown by the adsorption kinetic studies.