This current work focuses on the synthesis of geopolymer-based adsorbent which uses kaolin as a source material, mixed with alkali solution consisting of 10 M NaOH and Na₂SiO₃ as well as aluminium powder as a foaming agent. The experimental range for the aluminium powder was between 0.6, 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2wt%. The structure, properties and characterization of the geopolymer were examined using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). Adsorption capacity and porosity were analysed based on various percentages of aluminium powder added. The results indicate that the use of aluminium powder exhibited a better pore size distribution and higher porosity, suggesting a better heavy metal removal. The maximum adsorption capacity of Cu²⁺ approached approximately 98%. The findings indicate that 0.8% aluminium powder was the optimal aluminium powder content for geopolymer adsorbent. The removal efficiency was affected by pH, adsorbent dosage and contact time. The optimum removal capacity of Cu²⁺ was obtained at pH 6 with 1.5 g geopolymer adsorbent and 4 h contact time. Therefore, it can be concluded that the increase in porosity increases the adsorption of Cu²⁺.

This paper reviews about geopolymer based adsorbent focusing in the removal of heavy metal. The reviews include fundamental and types of material used in the formation of adsorbents. Geopolymer based adsorbent got attention recently due to its unique three-dimensional network structure, with fixed size pores and paths that allow certain heavy metal to pass through. Most materials that applied as adsorbent such as fly ash, metakaolin, kaolin and dolomite. A lot of sludge nowadays only dumped in the landfill which can be used as one of new materials as geopolymer based adsorbent.

Microstructure of three-dimensional aluminosilicate which similar to zeolite cause geopolymer based adsorbent accepted in the treatment of wastewater. This paper presents an investigation on the copper removal from the wastewater by varying the solid to liquid ratio in the fly ash, kaolin and sludge-based geopolymer adsorbent. The adsorption test was conducted to study the efficiency of the adsorbent and the copper concentration was examined by using Atomic Adsorption Spectrometry (AAS). The optimum solid to liquid ratio with the highest percentage removal were 1.0, 0.5 and 0.8 for fly ash-based geopolymer, kaolin-based geopolymer and sludge-based geopolymer adsorbent.