Unveiling the potential of Fe2O3/TiO2 system to produce clean water: An effective and low‒cost approach for arsenic removal from ground water

Abstract

The aim of this project is to estimate and eliminate arsenic by using cost‒effective approach. For the purpose, anatase TiO2 has been synthesized and sensitized with Fe2O3 using hydrothermal approach. As‒synthesized adsorbents namely Fe2O3/TiO2 were employed to remove the arsenic (III and V) contents in the form of arsenomolybdate complex (AMC). The structural morphologies and optical characteristics have been examined and assessed by various advance approaches like XRD, FTIR, Raman, SEM and AFM techniques. The BET, EDX and XPS techniques have confirmed the porosity, phase purity and chemical compositions. The stability of adsorbents was evaluated using thermo–gravimetric analysis. To extend the utility of adsorbents for successful implementation, various ground drinking water samples have been collected from Tehsil Jahania‒PK. For the quick removal and spectroscopic quantifications, arsenic contents were first converted to the arsenomolybdate complex (AMC) and then extracted via adsorption. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were employed to evaluate and confirm the adsorption efficiencies, whereas Temkin model was employed to assure the electrostatic attraction between Fe2O3/TiO2 and AMC. Results indicate that the maximum adsorption capacity of Fe2O3/TiO2 is 130.1 mg/g. On the basis of survey reports and results, it has been concluded that this approach hold potential to replace the traditional adsorbents used for arsenic removal technologies.