OGUNYEMI STANLEY ALEAKWE

The adsorption properties of the Dangara middle layer clay were examined to determine the adsorption of the heavy metal, zinc. The effect of variation in parameters such as, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, contact time, pH and temperature were observed. The result obtained showed that the optimum equilibrium adsorption was 99.578% at pH 8, 99.576% at 1.0g adsorbent dosage, 99.578% at contact time of 60minutes, 99.61% at 10ppm initial concentration, and 99.61% at temperature of 40ºC. The experimental data were analyzed by both the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm model. The result obtained shows that the Dangara middle layer clay is an effective adsorbent for the adsorption of the heavy metal Zinc from an aqueous solution.