Abstract
Antimony (Sb) and its compounds are considered as global priority pollutants. Elevated concentrations of antimony in natural and industrial process wastewater are of global concern, particularly given interest in the potential toxicity and harm to the environment from aquatic exposure. Iron-based materials for treatment by adsorption are widely regarded to have potential merit for the removal of trace contaminants from water and especially in the search for efficient and low-cost techniques. In this paper, we review the application of iron-based materials in the sorption treatment of antimony contaminated water. The interaction of Sb is discussed in relation to adsorption performance, influencing factors, mechanism, modelling of adsorption (isotherm, kinetic and thermodynamic models), advantages, drawbacks and the recent achievements in the field. Although iron-based adsorbents show promise, the following three aspects are in need of further study. Firstly, a select number of iron based binary metal oxide adsorbents should be further explored as they show superior performance compared to other systems. Secondly, the possibility of redox reactions and conversion between Sb(III) and Sb(V) during the adsorption process is unclear and requires further investigation. Thirdly, in order to achieve optimized control of preferential adsorption sites and functional groups, the mechanism of antimony removal has to be qualitatively and quantitatively resolved by combining the advantages of advanced characterization techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Atomic force microscope(AFM), X-ray absorption near edge structure(XANES), and other spectroscopic methods. We provide details on the achievements and limitations of each of these stages and point to the need for further research.
Highlights
Antimony (Sb) is a naturally occurring chalcophilic element, which predominantly exists as Sb(III)and Sb(V) in the aquatic environment [1]
A number of experimental studies have shown that Sb removal efficiency, adsorption capacity and adsorption rate can be enhanced at high temperatures [32,48,50,52,54,67,69] whilst keeping other parameters constant
The capacity to adsorb Sb(V) on Fe(III)-treated aerobic granules, hydrated ferric oxide (HFO)-201 and iron-oxide coated calcite sand (IOCCS) [23,55,57] decreases with increasing ionic strength, and increasing the ionic strength exerts no significant effect on the adsorption of Sb by iron-zirconium bimetal oxide [46], hematite-modified magnetic nanoparticles [48] and goethite [76]
Summary
Antimony (Sb) is a naturally occurring chalcophilic element, which predominantly exists as Sb(III). Due to the complex characteristics of Sb-containing wastewater [7], poor uptake of treatment technology, and long term management issues from historic production, many surface and groundwater bodies are seriously polluted, and receive direct discharges without appropriate recovery or treatment methods This is acute in the Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces of China [8,9]. Antimony poisoning and pollution events occur with increasing frequency, which pose an adverse impact on the local ecosystem, food safety, drinking water security and on human health [10,11] This means that effective treatment methods for Sb-containing wastewater discharges are essential for environmental improvement and to protect human health. We present a review of the main factors influencing the sorption process and relative performance of a range of materials This includes pH, contact time, initial concentration, adsorbent dose, temperature, specific surface area and co-existing/competing ions of Sb adsorption onto iron adsorbents. Characteristics of Adsorption Treatment of Sb-Containing Wastewater by Iron Adsorbents
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