Carbonaceous Adsorbent Derived from Sulfur-Impregnated Heavy Oil Ash and Its Lead Removal Ability from Aqueous Solution

A novel carbonaceous adsorbent was prepared from sulfur-impregnated heavy oil ash via pyrolysis using potassium sulfide (K2S) solution, and its ability to remove lead (Pb2+) from aqueous solutions was examined. It was compared with an adsorbent synthesized by conventional pyrolysis using potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution. Specifically, the raw ash was immersed in 1 M K2S solution or 1 M KOH solution for 1 day and subsequently heated at 100–1000 °C in a nitrogen (N2) atmosphere. After heating for 1 h, the solid was naturally cooled in N2 atmosphere, and subsequently washed and dried to yield the product. Regardless of the pyrolysis temperature, the product generated using K2S (Product-K2S) has a higher sulfur content than that obtained using KOH (Product-KOH). Moreover, Product-K2S has a higher lead removal ability than Product-KOH, whereas the specific surface area of the former is smaller than that of the latter. Product-K2S obtained at 300 °C (Product-K2S-300) achieves the highest lead adsorption and a high selective lead removal from a ternary Pb2+–Cu2+–Zn2+ solution. The equilibrium capacity of Product-K2S-300 was found to fit the Langmuir model better than the Freundlich model, and its calculated maximum adsorption capacity is 0.54 mmol/g. From the ternary Pb2+–Cu2+–Zn2+ solution, the order of adsorption by Product-K2S-300 is Pb2+ > Cu2+ > Zn2+, and the removal of Pb2+ and Cu2+ increases as the pH of the solution increases.