Arsenic Removal from High-Arsenic Water Sources by Coagulation and Electrocoagulation

Removal of As(V) from wastewaters using magnetic iron oxides formed by zero-valent iron electrocoagulation

Electrocoagulation of zero-valent iron has been widely applied to the removal of dissolved arsenic, but the solid-liquid separation of arsenic-containing precipitates remains technically challenging. In this work, zero-valent iron was electrochemically oxidized to magnetic iron oxides for the removal of As(Ⅴ) from simulated and actual mining wastewaters. The results indicated that lepidocrocite was formed when zero-valent iron was oxidized by dissolved oxygen, but ferrihydrite and green rust were first formed and then transformed to magnetic iron oxides (mainly magnetite and maghemite) in the electrochemical oxidation from 0 to 0.9 V (vs. SCE), which facilitates the adsorption of As(V) and subsequent solid-liquid separation under a magnetic field. In simulated As(V)-containing solution with initial pH 7.0, zero-valent iron was electrochemically oxidized to magnetite and maghemite at 0.6 V (vs. SCE) for 2 h. The As(V) concentration first decreased from 5127.5 to 26.8 μg L^-1 with a removal ratio of 99.5%. In actual mining wastewaters, zero-valent iron was electrochemically oxidized to maghemite at 0.6 V (vs. SCE) for 24 h, and the As(V) concentration decreased from 5486.4 to 3.6 μg L^-1 with a removal ratio of 99.9%. The removal ratio of As(V) increased slightly with increasing potential, and increased first and then decreased with increasing initial pH. Compared with that of SO₄^2- and NO₃^-, the presence of Cl^- significantly enhanced the removal of As(V). This work provides a highly efficient, facile and low-cost technique for the treatment of arsenic-containing wastewaters.

Fluoride removal from natural volcanic underground water by an electrocoagulation process: Parametric and cost evaluations

Excessive fluoride content in groundwater can cause serious risks to human health, and sources of groundwater intended for human consumption should be treated to reduce fluoride concentrations down to acceptable levels. In the particular case of the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain), the water supply comes mainly from aquifers of volcanic origin with a high content of fluorides that make them unacceptable for human consumption without prior conditioning treatment. The treatments that generate a high rejection of water are not acceptable because water is a scarce natural resource of high value. An electrocoagulation process was investigated as a method to treat natural groundwater from volcanic soils containing a hazardously high fluoride content. The operating parameters of an electrocoagulation reactor model with parallel plate aluminum electrodes were optimized for batch and continuous flow operations. In the case of the batch operation, acidification of the water improved the removal efficiency of fluoride, which was the highest at pH 3. However, operation at the natural pH of the water achieved elimination efficiencies between 82 and 92%, depending on the applied current density. An optimum current density of 5 mA/cm² was found in terms of maximum removal efficiency, and the kinetics of fluoride removal conformed to pseudo-second-order kinetics. In the continuous-flow operation, with the optimal residence time of 10 min and a separation of 0.5 cm between the electrodes, it was observed that the current density that would be applied would depend on the initial concentration of fluoride in the raw water. Thus, an initial fluoride concentration of 6.02 mg/L required a current density >7.5 mA/cm² to comply with the legal guidelines in the product water, while for an initial concentration of 8.98 mg/L, the optimal current density was 10 mA/cm². Under these operating conditions, the electrocoagulation process was able to reduce the fluoride concentration of natural groundwater to below 1.5 mg/L according to WHO guidelines with an operating cost between 0.20 and 0.26 €/m³ of treated water.

Arsenic removal by electrocoagulation process: Recent trends and removal mechanism

Arsenic contamination in drinking water is a major issue in the present world. Arsenicosis is the disease caused by the regular consumption of arsenic contaminated water, even at a lesser contaminated level. The number of arsenicosis patients is increasing day-by-day. Decontamination of arsenic from the water medium is the only one way to regulate this and the arsenic removal can be fulfilled by water treatment methods based on separation techniques. Electrocoagulation (EC) process is a promising technology for the effective removal of arsenic from aqueous solution. The present review article analyzes the performance of the EC process for arsenic removal. Electrocoagulation using various sacrificial metal anodes such as aluminium, iron, magnesium, etc. is found to be very effective for arsenic decontamination. The performances of each anode are described in detail. A special focus has been made on the mechanism behind the arsenite and arsenate removal by EC process. Main trends in the disposal methods of sludge containing arsenic are also included. Comparison of arsenic decontamination efficiencies of chemical coagulation and EC is also reported.

Characteristics and components of poly-aluminum chloride coagulants that enhance arsenate removal by coagulation: Detailed analysis of aluminum species

We evaluated 51 poly-aluminum chloride (PACl) coagulants to determine the coagulant characteristics that were responsible for effective arsenate removal from contaminated river water by means of experiments involving coagulation, settling, and microfiltration. Some of the high-basicity PACls exhibited high arsenate removal percentages, particularly under alkaline conditions, and we investigated various relevant properties and characteristics of these high-basicity PACls. Effective arsenate removal was correlated with the content of polymeric and colloidal aluminum species (Alb and Alc) in the PACls but was not well correlated with colloid charge or zeta potential. Multiple regression analysis revealed that a portion of Alb and Alc, which reacted with the ferron reagent during the period from 30 min to 3 h, that is, the (Al_30min-3h) fraction, had the highest arsenate sorption capacity, followed by a colloidal aluminum fraction (Al_>3h, which reacted with ferron at a time of >3 h). The Al_30min-3h fraction was stable, and its arsenate sorption capacity did not decrease markedly with increasing pH. The Al_30min-3h fraction did not correspond to the Keggin-type e-Al₁₃ polycation or the δ-Al₃₀ polycation; it is likely to be an aluminum polymer that is unobservable by ²⁷Al NMR spectroscopy. Our results suggest that PACls with a high proportion of the Al_30min-3h fraction should be used for enhanced arsenate removal by coagulation. A high content of the e-Al₁₃ polycation or the δ-Al₃₀ polycation was not indispensable for effective arsenate removal.

Superparamagnetic nanomaterial Fe3O4-TiO2 for the removal of As(V) and As(III) from aqueous solutions

A magnetically separable nanomaterial Fe3O4-TiO2 was synthesized and characterized which was subsequently used for the removal of arsenic (V) from aqueous solutions. The surface morphology, magnetic properties, crystalline structure, thermal stability and Brunauer-Emmet-Teller surface area of the synthesized Fe3O4-TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) are characterized by scanning electron microscope and high-resolution transmission electron microscope, vibrating sample magnetometry, X-ray diffractometer, thermogravimetric analysis and multi point function surface area analyzer. The saturation magnetization of Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs was determined to be 50.97 emu/g, which makes them superparamagnetic. The surface area of Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs was as much as 94.9 m(2)/g. The main factors affecting adsorption efficiency, such as solution pH, reaction time, initial As(V) concentration and adsorbent concentration are investigated. When the adsorption isotherms were analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Dubinin-Radushkevich models, equilibrium data were found to be well represented by Freundlich isotherm, and adsorption on Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of As(V) on Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs, calculated by the Freundlich model was determined at 11.434 µg/g. 1.0 g/L of Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs was efficient for complete removal of 100 µg/L As(V) in 1 h. Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs was also effective for 93% removal of 100 µg/L As(III). Matrix effect was determined using As(V)-contaminated well water. Successfull results were obtained for purification of real well water containing 137.12 µg/L As(V). Results show that Fe3O4-TiO2 NPs are promising adsorbents with an advantage of magnetic separation.

Development of polyacrylamide chromium oxide as a new sorbent for solid phase extraction of As(iii) from food and environmental water samples

PACO was developed as an efficient adsorbent for preconcentration and trace determination of As(iii) with a detection limit of 0.45 μg L⁻¹.