The removal of pentavalent arsenic by graphite intercalation compound functionalized carbon foam from contaminated water

Abstract

In the present investigation, Graphite intercalation compound (GIC) functionalized phenolic resin based carbon foam for removal of arsenic (As(V)) from contaminated water is developed by sacrificial template technique followed by carbonization at 1000 °C in N2. The GICCF adsorbent is characterised by scanning electron microscope (SEM) for morphological study, X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns explains the phase information and interlayer spacing of the adsorbent, whereas Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) gives the information about surface functionality and mechanism of adsorption of As(V) over the surface of adsorbent. The time data is fitted well in pseudo second order kinetics and follows multilinear nature of intra-particle diffusion model. The adsorption nature of adsorbent and adsorbate is explained by Langmuir isotherm better than Freundlich isotherm, Temkin isotherm, and D-R isotherm. The adsorption capacity of adsorbent is 62.5 μgg-1, which is calculated by Langmuir isotherm. Arsenic removal by GICCF is taken place within two hrs up to acceptable limit. The proposed GICCF can be regenerated after treating with 0.1 M HNO3 and 0.1 M HCl solution and it can be used for multiple times.