Synthesis of Iron Oxide Nanoparticle Functionalized Activated Carbon and Its Applications in Arsenic Adsorption

Abstract

This work reveals the As(V) adsorption behaviors onto iron oxide (Fe3O4) nanoparticles modified activated carbon (AC), originally developed from biochar (BC), as a green adsorbent denoted by FAC. Since FAC has abundant surface functional groups and a desired porous structure that is favorable for the removal of As(V) in contaminated water, FAC has greatly enhanced the As(V) adsorption capacity of the original BC. Various methods were employed to characterize the FAC characteristics and adsorption mechanism, including pHpzc determination, BET specific surface area, elemental analysis (EA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results show that the AC surface was successfully modified by iron oxide nanoparticles, enhancing the porosity and specific surface area of original adsorbent. Batch adsorption tests indicated a well-fitted Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model for As(V) adsorption. Additionally, the highest adsorption capacity (Qmax = 32.57 mg/g) by FAC was higher than previously reported literature reviews. Until now, no article was conducted to research the effect of carbon surface chemistry and texture on As removal from waters. It is required to obtain a rational view of optimal conditions to remove As from contaminated water.

Arsenic removal using iron oxide nanoparticles produced employing a green synthesis approach

“…No change was observed after the contact time was increased from 120 min to 24 h, hence, all further experiments were conducted with a contact time of 120 min. A similar trend for arsenic adsorption by nanoparticles prepared from rice husk (Pillai et al, 2020) and iron oxide nanoparticles modified activated carbon (Ha et al, 2021) has been observed in previous studies. Adsorption occurs in a short duration, adsorption sites get saturated, and no removal occurs after saturation (Mohan et al, 2019).…”

Characteristics and Antimicrobial Activities of Iron Oxide Nanoparticles Obtained via Mixed-Mode Chemical/Biogenic Synthesis Using Spent Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) Extracts

“…Examples include the use of NZVI, which can destroy chlorinated organic hydrocarbons such as trichloroethylene [12], trichloroethene (TCE) [13][14][15] and dibenzo-p-dioxin [11]; reduce chlorinated ethanes [16]; and remove nitrites [17]. There is great interest in the possibility of using iron oxide nanoparticles to remove pollutants from the environment, e.g., phenol [18], oxyanions, including arsenite, arsenate, chromate, vanadate and phosphate, or remove toxic metal ions, e.g., for the adsorption of lead (II) [19] and arsenic [20][21][22][23][24][25][26]. An example is magnetic iron oxide modified with 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane (Fe 3 O 4 @SiO 2 -cyclen), which is able to selectively sorb heavy metal ions Cd 2+ , Pb 2+ and Cu 2+ [27].…”

Synthesis of Oxidant Functionalised Cationic Polymer Hydrogel for Enhanced Removal of Arsenic (III)

“…Therefore, the development of advanced materials or technologies for the efficient treatment of As wastewater continues to be a global research priority. Various removal methods have been developed and applied to treat the As-contaminated wastewater, such as co-precipitation for the removal of arsenous acid using Fe(III) and Mn oxide, adsorption methods using various adsorbents and minerals, and ion exchange methods [ 4 , 5 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Among them, adsorption is widely used because of its technological simplicity, high efficiency, and low secondary pollution risk [ 15 ].…”