Factorial design, physical studies and rapid arsenic adsorption using newly prepared polymer modified perlite adsorbent

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In this work, expanded perlite (EP) was modified with a polymer of trimesoyl chloride and phenylenediamine, and evaluated as a novel competent adsorbent for aquatic arsenic (As(III)) removal. The chemical structure and morphology of the developed polymer-modified EP (PM-EP) adsorbent were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, as well as scanning electron microscope /energy equipped with dispersive X-ray spectroscope. The conditions of batch removal such as the solution pH, contact time, sorbent dosage, and initial As(III) concentration were analyzed by factorial design. Based on the non-linear and linear Langmuir model that well correlates equilibrium data, the removal capacity of the produced PM-EP adsorbent was estimated as 447.9 mg g −1 and 454.5 mg g −1 , respectively at optimized conditions (pH: 6; contact time: 60 min; adsorbent dosage: 10 g L −1 and temperature: 24 °C). The As(III) adsorption mechanism onto PM-EP adsorbent was well described by the non-linear pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The prepared PM-EP adsorbent was subjected to a ten cycling-adsorption/desorption test and the results demonstrated that it had appreciated reuse performance until seven cycles. The removal efficiency of PM-EP was determined in the case of wastewater samples. The overall evaluation suggested that the synthesized PM-EP adsorbent could be a powerful alternative adsorbent for decontamination of As(III) ions from wastewaters and drinking waters. • Polymer modified expanded perlite (PM-EP) was produced as powerful adsorbent for As(III) removal. • The examined batch adsorption parameters were optimized with factorial design analysis. • PM-EP composite had outstanding As(III) removal capacity of 447.9 mg g −1 • The adsorption/desorption performance of PM-EP was still high as 80/70% at 5th cycle. • Adsorption performance of the PM-EP adsorbent was good in case of wastewater samples.