This work explores the potential of

This work explores the potential of adsorption of Pb2+ by hydrothermally synthesized alumina. In comparison to other heavy ion removal techniques, adsorption is preferred in the current study as it has the edge of ease of operation and environment friendly characteristics. Synthesis of high surface area alumina whiskers was achieved by hydrothermal route which were subsequently employed for the active adsorption of lead ions. AACH(ammonium aluminum carbonate hydroxide), used as precursor for alumina,was calcined at three different temperatures i.e. 700,900 and 1100 °C to form alumina whiskers. These whiskers were characterized by XRD (X ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscope), BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) and FTIR (fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). Various adsorption parameters such as contact time, pH, initial metal concentration were studied for lead ions. Maximal removal efficiency was obtained for the specimen having pH 4 and calcined at 700 °C for 60 minutes. Kinetic data was best described by pseudo second order model, whereas the adsorption equilibrium data obeyed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm model.