Study of arsenic (V) removal of water by using agglomerated alumina

Abstract

<jats:p>Arsenic is a toxic element for human health. It persists in the environment as a result of natural and anthropic contamination, generating nocive effects for consumers. Some of them can be cancer, cardiovascular disorders, hypotension, metabolic disease and peripheral neuropathy. Adsorption is considered to be one of the most effective technologies widely used in global environmental protection areas. The objective of this study was to generate a low cost agglomerated alumina adsorbent (A-1) for the effective removal of arsenic (V) from water and its comparison with a commercial agglomerated alumina (A-2). Both of them of 5 mm of diameter. The physicochemical properties of the adsorbents were characterized by various techniques, such as: XRF, zeta potential, XRD, adsorption-desorption of N2 and FE-SEM/EDS. Batch experiments were performed to evaluate the efficiency of removal of As (V) from water by A-1 and A-2. The point of zero charge of A-1 and A-2 was at pH 8.5 and 8.1, respectively. The experimental results in batches indicated that agglomerate A-1 has a higher adsorption capacity than A-2 (1.212 mg?g-1; 1.058 mg?g-1) in similar conditions, concentration of 15 mg?L-1 of As (V), temperature (20± 2 °C) and pH 7. The adsorption processes of As (V) in A-1 and A-2 followed the kinetics of Pseudo-first order kinetic and the Freundlich isotherm. The results showed that the agglomerate A-1 is an attractive adsorbent for the effective removal of As (V) from water.</jats:p>