This work presents the adsorption capability of green tea and ginseng leaves to adsorb heavy metals such as Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) in aqueous solution. FT-IR analysis indicates the presence of oxygen containing functional groups (carboxyl groups) in two kinds of leaves. High pH condition was favorable to the adsorption of heavy metal ions due to the enhanced electrostatic attraction and the precipitation reaction of metal ions. The adsorption of Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) reached equilibrium within 10 min, achieving high removal efficiencies of 80.3-97.5%. The adsorption kinetics data of heavy metal ions were fitted well with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption amounts of Cd(II), Cu(II), and Pb(II) ions were 8, 3.5, and 15 mg/g, respectively, in the initial concentration range from 0.15 to 0.75 mM. Based on the fitting data obtained from isotherm models, heavy metal adsorption by green tea and ginseng leaves could occur via multi-layer sorption.

Keywords: Green tea leaves;Ginseng leaves;Heavy metal;Adsorption;Oxygen containing functional groups;