Oil palm shell, a waste from palm oil industry, was cleaned and utilized as adsorbent. Its particle size distribution
gave the uniformity coefficient of approximately two indicating that it can be used as filter bed
media for continuous operation without resting. Its measured pHpzc of 4.1 is below the common pH of
constructed wetland water body suggesting positive adsorption for heavy metal. The effect of various
parameters on its adsorption was studied via batch experiments. The adsorption of Cu(II) and Pb(II) ions
by oil palm shell showed a slightly better fit with the Freundlich compared to Langmuir. Its monolayer
adsorption capacities were found to be 1.756 and 3.390 mg/g for Cu(II) and Pb(II), respectively. High correlation
coefficient of over 0.99 given by the pseudo-second-order model suggests that the rate limiting
factor may be chemisorption. These findings suggest its potential application as constructed wetland
media for the removal of heavy metal.