Abstract

Pyrite ash (PA), a waste produced during the roasting of pyrite ores to produce sulfuric acid, was studied as a potential adsorbent for removing arsenic (As) from groundwater. The collected pyrite ash waste samples contained >86 % iron (as Fe2O3). The results indicate that adsorption of As by PA was only slightly affected by initial pH at pH ≤ 9. Arsenate removal efficiency increased with the amount of adsorbent added over the range of 0.1–50 g/L. The As(V) removal increased with time, and 79 % removal was achieved within 1 h. Moreover, there was no significant change in As concentrations after 24 h. The adsorption process was best described by a second-order kinetic model. The adsorption of As(V) onto the PA was found to have followed the Langmuir isotherm. In batch studies, the maximum As(V) removal efficiency was 97 % at an adsorbent dose of 10 g/L, with an initial As(V) concentration of 300 µg/L. Thus, the PA was shown to be a suitable sorbent, reducing As from an initial level of 600 to <10 μg/L As(V), i.e., below the WHO limit for drinking water.

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