Applicability of innovative adsorbents in geogenic arsenic removal

Abstract

Exposure to high concentrations of geogenic arsenic via well-waters is a worldwide health concern. The purpose of the present work was to search the experimental results of the behavior of raw Uspheres (RU), iron Uspheres (FeU), iron Uspheres 200 °C (FeU@200°C) in the removal of arsenic in accordance with some factors impacting the adsorption process. Some study parameters including initial pH (2–10), adsorbent amount (0.1–10.0 g), temperature (10–50 °C), and operating time (5–90 min) were examined. Under wanted conditions, maximum removal efficiencies of 90.36%, 98.04%, and 97.86% were obtained with RU, FeU, and FeU@200°C, respectively. The equilibrium adsorption was found to match the Langmuir isotherm model based on the collected data. The maximum adsorption capacity of RU, FeU, and FeU@200°C was 6.09, 6.61, and 6.46 mg/g, severally. The arsenic adsorption onto RU, FeU, and FeU@200°C was acknowledged by the pseudo-second-order. Electrostatic interaction and surface complexation mechanisms are involved in arsenic adsorption. The Box-Behnken statistical experiment design method was applied to specify the impact of pH, temperature, and the amount of RU, FeU, and FeU@200°C on the percentage of arsenic removal. All of the results showed that RU, FeU, and FeU@200°C were eco-friendly, affordable, and easily procured that could be used for removing geogenic arsenic from well-waters.