Sorption kinetics of selenium on humic acid

Abstract

This study investigated selenium sorption kinetics on humic acid (HA) as a function of initial Se concentration (10–300 μg·1−1) and solid/liquid ratio (0.01–0.1). From the result, it was clear that the Se sorption kinetics on HA could be expressed by a pseudo-second order equation. This was possible because the sorption mechanism on HA is a multiple sorption process including specific and non specific mechanisms. Additionally, the 3-D empirical equation for the amount of sorbed Se could be determined as a function of the initial Se concentration and solid/liquid ratio.