Abstract
The ability of activated bentonite to adsorb Cu and Ni was investigated. 6 % solid loading was chosen as the optimum solid loading for activated bentonite with 94.85% Cu and 92.05% Ni removal after 3 hours of agitation. The adsorption process followed the Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second order kinetic models. The maximum adsorption capacities were 0.297 and 0.235 mg/g for Cu and Ni respectively. The adsorption of Cu and Ni was thermodynamically spontaneous. Cu adsorption was endothermic whilst Ni adsorption was exothermic. Activated bentonite could be used for two cycles of adsorption without regeneration.