The removal of sulphate from mine water by precipitation as ettringite and the utilisation of the precipitate as a sorbent for arsenate removal

Abstract

The aim of this research was to investigate sulphate removal from mine water by precipitation as ettringite (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O) and the utilisation of the precipitate as a sorbent for arsenate removal. The mine water sulphate concentration was reduced by 85–90% from the initial 1400 mg/L during ettringite precipitation depending on the treatment method. The precipitation conditions were also simulated with MINEQL + software, and the computational results were compared with the experimental results. The precipitated solids were characterised with X-ray diffraction and a scanning electron microscope. The precipitated solids were tested as sorbents for arsenate removal from the model solution. The arsenic(V) model solution concentration reduced 86–96% from the initial 1.5 mg/L with a 1 g/L sorbent dosage. The effect of initial arsenate concentration on the sorption of arsenate on the precipitate was studied and Langmuir, Freundlich, and Langmuir-Freundlich sorption isotherm models were fitted to the experimental data. The maximum arsenate sorption capacity (qm = 11.2 ± 4.7 mg/g) of the precipitate was obtained from the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm. The results indicate that the precipitate produced during sulphate removal from mine water by precipitation as ettringite could be further used as a sorbent for arsenate removal.