Effect of pH and Treatment Time on the Removal of Arsenic Species from Simulated Groundwater by Using Fe³⁺ and Ca²⁺ Impregnated Granular Activated Charcoals

P. Mondal^1, , B. Mohanty¹ and C. B. Majumder¹

¹Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee, India

Cite this paper:
P. Mondal, B. Mohanty and C. B. Majumder. Effect of pH and Treatment Time on the Removal of Arsenic Species from Simulated Groundwater by Using Fe³⁺ and Ca²⁺ Impregnated Granular Activated Charcoals. Chemical Engineering and Science. 2013; 1(2):27-31. doi: 10.12691/ces-1-2-3

Abstract

This paper deals with the removal of arsenic species from simulated groundwater containing arsenic (As(III):As(V): 1:1), Fe and Mn in concentrations of 0.188mg/l, 2.8mg/l and 0.6mg/l respectively, by surface modified granular activated charcoals produced by impregnating Fe³⁺ and Ca²⁺ on GAC surface. Effects of pH and treatment time on the removal of arsenic species by using these adsorbents have been compared. The phenomenon has been explained on the basis of individual pH_zpc of oxides and metal complexes present in the adsorbents. The present approach clearly explains the adsorption of negatively charged arsenic species at high pH (>11). Under optimum process conditions at neutral pH, Fe³⁺ impregnated granular activated charcoal (GAC-Fe) has been found more efficient for the treatment of contaminated groundwater than Ca²⁺ impregnated granular activated charcoal (GAC-Ca). Treatment time for equilibrium adsorption of arsenic species on GAC-Ca is found to be less than that of GAC-Fe.

Keywords:
arsenic GAC-Fe GAC-Ca pH_zpc adsorption surface modification

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