Peat as an Adsorbent for Water Purification in Developing Countries

 Peat is able to remove lead(II) and zinc ions from a solution. The hydroxyl group is the main functional group that is responsible for the adsorption metal ions as confirmed by the FTIR spectrophotometry.  

Adsorption of Lead(II) ions take place faster than zinc ions during competitive and non-competitive adsorption. In a non-competitive environment, a higher percentage of zinc ions is adsorbed by peat whereas the reverse is true during competitive adsorption.

The filter is able to reduce the concentration of zinc ions to below the maximum contamination level (MCL). The high adsorption capacity and abundance shows that the use of peat as a filtration media for the removal of heavy metal ions in a column filter is viable, economical and eco-friendly.