Cadmium (Cd) is known to have adverse effects on the kidney, liver, bones and cardio-pulmonary system, this heavy metal is usually consumed from drinking water with higher Cd acceptable limits. In this study, Activated Carbon (AC) is produced from Date Tree Leaf (DTL) and impregnated with Zinc Oxide catalyst, where an adsorbent (ZnO/DTL) was developed and used in the adsorption of heavy metals from water samples from three areas of Maiduguri, Nigeria where there are reported kidney problems caused by Cd. The highest concentration of Cd from Dala Kwanan Osi is of Maiduguri (0.017 mg/l) is observed to be completely remove even less than the maximum permitted limits of 0.003 mg/l. The outcomes from SEM, EDXRF, FTIR spectra and XRD patterns revealed the characteristics of the adsorbents. Also, the isotherm study indicated that Langmuir isotherm supersedes (0.9684) the characteristics shown by Freundlich isotherm (0.8479) hence it is more suitable to explicate the correlation of experimental results. It is proven for the first time in Maiduguri, Nigeria that the DTL can now be considered as a waste-to-wealth commodity suitable for the cheap and simple means of removing Cd contamination and other heavy metals from borehole water.

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