Introduction: The current study investigated the use of acid-treated rice husks to remove heavy metals and organic pollutants from water containing heavy metals (R2C and Cd2) and organic pollutants (phenol and atrazine). Methods: The adsorption effect of acid-treated rice husks was compared with other adsorbents such as activated carbon, chitosan, and bentonite clay. Result: both acid-treated rice husks and activated carbon were highly efficient materials, and thus, rice husks were established as a cost-effective alternative. It was revealed that acid treatment of rice husks enhanced adsorption capacity by half, and lead removal was nearly doubled. The most effective pH value for optimizing organic pollutants and heavy metals while minimizing conditions was found to be 6.5. Regarding the temperature findings, the data revealed a minor increase in temperature; nevertheless, the result was not statistically significant, even if the temperatures became more efficient. When compared to activated carbon, chitosan, and bentonite clay, acid-treated rice husks demonstrated high removal performance, making them a very cost-effective raw material. Finally, the presence of active functional groups that transfer the action of rice husks to pollutants was established by adsorption processes studied using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) surface area. Conclusion: Therefore, it has been demonstrated that this technique, which entails removing at least one acid-treated rice husk, is more effective at treating industrial wastewater than previously documented and widely used technologies like flocculation, coagulation, and reverse osmosis. It also offers a safe and sustainable substitute for conventional water quality methods.
