Investigation of Lead Removal from Drinking Water Using Different Sorbents

Lead is a heavy metal with strong toxic properties. This chemical element is found in wastewater and sometimes in drinking water. The article deals with the removal of lead(II) ions from polluted water using a sorption process to determine the most effective sorbent for the removal of lead(II) ions. Three sorbents were used in the research: clay, sapropel, and iron sludge. All three sorbents investigated reduce the concentration of lead(II) ions in water: clay efficiency was of 65.7–90 %, sapropel of 94.3–100 %, and iron sludge of 84.3–97 %, depending on sorbent type and contact duration. The research has shown that the most effective way to remove lead(II) ions from the test water is sapropel. Using different amounts of sapropel (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 g/dm³ and 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 g/dm³) and different duration of contact (30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes), the concentration of lead(II) ions in the test water after purification did not exceed the permissible values for drinking water (10 μg/dm³), so that the lowest sapropel content of 0.1 g/dm³ can be used for sorption. Lead(II) ions are most effectively removed when contact time is 30 min.