Abstract
Copper (II) sorption on a Kenyan micaceous mineral (Mica-K) was studied in the batch mode. The effects
of different experimental parameters such as; initial concentration, contact time, sorbent dose, pH,
particle size, agitation speed, competition and temperature on the kinetics of copper removal were
studied. The sorption pattern of copper onto Mica-K followed Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms.
Thermodynamic parameters for coppersorption on Mica-K were also determined. X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopic (XPS) analysis of metal ion-equilibrated Mica-K, demonstrated that copper, cadmium and
Zinc containing nodules existed on the surface of Mica-K.