Arsenic (V) Removal by an Adsorbent Material Derived from Acid Mine Drainage Sludge

Erdenechimeg Byambaa,Yuhoon Hwang,Shin Dong Kim,Won Hyun Ji,Tae-Hyun Kim,Jaeyoung Seon

doi:10.3390/app11010047

Erdenechimeg Byambaa, Yuhoon Hwang + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010047

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Abstract

Arsenic is a toxic element that is often found in drinking water in developing countries in Asia, while arsenic poisoning is a serious worldwide human health concern. The objective of this work is to remove arsenic (V) (As(V)) from water by using an adsorbent material prepared from mine waste, called MIRESORBTM, which contains Fe, Al. The performance of the MIRESORBTM adsorbent was compared with granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), which is a commercial adsorbent. Adsorbents were characterized by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), and N2 sorption with Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis. The kinetics, isotherms, and pH-dependency of arsenic adsorption were interrogated to gain insights into arsenic adsorption processes. The maximum adsorption capacity of MIRESORBTM was 50.38 mg/g, which was higher than that of GFH (29.07 mg/g). Moreover, a continuous column test that used environmental samples of acid mine drainage was conducted to evaluate the MIRESORBTM material for practical applications. The column could be operated for more than 5840 bed volumes without a breakthrough. Successful operation of a pilot plant using MIRESORBTM adsorbent was also reported. Thus, these studies demonstrate MIRESORBTM as a highly efficient and economical adsorbent derived from recycled mine sludge waste.

Highlights

Received: 1 December 2020 Accepted: 18 December 2020 Published: 23 December 2020Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Arsenic exists as oxides in the soil, sediment, and water in many parts of the world and originates from both natural and anthropogenic activities
The MIRESORBTM adsorbent was supplied by E&Chem Solution Co., Ltd. (Pocheon-si, Korea) and was prepared by using acid mine drainage sludge
granular ferric hydroxide (GFH) consists of akageneite (β-FeO(OH)) and iron hydroxide (Fe(OH)3)

Summary

Introduction

Received: 1 December 2020 Accepted: 18 December 2020 Published: 23 December 2020Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.Arsenic exists as oxides in the soil, sediment, and water in many parts of the world and originates from both natural and anthropogenic activities. Received: 1 December 2020 Accepted: 18 December 2020 Published: 23 December 2020. Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Arsenic exists as oxides in the soil, sediment, and water in many parts of the world and originates from both natural and anthropogenic activities. Arsenic (V) (As(V)) is the predominant species under oxidizing conditions, as oxyanions of arsenic acid (H3AsO4, H2AsO4−, HAsO42−, and AsO43−), while arsenic (III) (As(III)) exists as arsenious acid (H3AsO3, H2AsO3−, and HAsO32−) under mildly reduced conditions [1]. Arsenic presents a high danger to human health when present in drinking water and, as such, toxicity related to arsenic is a severe concern worldwide. The World Health Organization currently recommends a maximum contaminant level (MCL) of arsenic in drinking water of 10 μg/L [3]. In Korea, the standard for arsenic in drinking water has been set at 10 μg/L, with 50 μg/L as the maximum allowable concentration in rivers and lakes as regulated by ambient water quality standards [4]

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