Study of As(III) and As(V) Oxoanion Adsorption onto Single and Mixed Ferrite and Hausmannite Nanomaterials

Effects of cobalt doping on the reactivity of hausmannite for As(III) oxidation and As(V) adsorption

Hausmannite is a common low valence Mn oxide mineral, with a distorted spinel structure, in surficial sediments. Although natural Mn oxides often contain various impurities of transitional metals (TMs), few studies have addressed the effect and related mechanism of TM doping on the reactivity of hausmannite with metal pollutants. Here, the reactivity of cobalt (Co) doped hausmannite with aqueous As(III) and As(V) was studied. Co doping decreased the point of zero charge of hausmannite and its adsorption capacity for As(V). Despite a reduction of the initial As(III) oxidation rate, Co-doped hausmannite could effectively oxidize As(III) to As(V), followed by the adsorption and fixation of a large amount of As(V) on the mineral surface. Arsenic K-edge EXAFS analysis of the samples after As(V) adsorption and As(III) oxidation revealed that only As(V) was adsorbed on the mineral surface, with an average As-Mn distance of 3.25-3.30 Å, indicating the formation of bidentate binuclear complexes. These results provide new insights into the interaction mechanism between TMs and low valence Mn oxides and their effect on the geochemical behaviors of metal pollutants.

A review on water treatment technologies for the management of oxoanions: prospects and challenges

Oxoanions are a class of contaminants that are easily released into the aquatic systems either through natural or anthropogenic activities. Depending on their oxidation states, they are highly mobile, resulting in the contamination of underground water. Above the permissible level in groundwater, they pose as threats to mammals when the contaminated water is consumed. Some of the health challenges caused are cancer, neurological, cardiac, gastrointestinal, and skin disorders. Several treatment technologies have been adopted over the years for the management of these oxoanions present in the aquatic systems. However interesting these treatment technologies might be, they also have their limitations such as cost-effectiveness, the complexity of the process, and generation of secondary pollutants. This work focused on some of the water treatment technologies applied for the removal of oxoanions. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of these treatment technologies are also highlighted. Amongst all the treatment technologies, adsorption is the most applied method for the removal of oxoanions. However, photocatalysis has a higher prospect since it is non-selective and secondary pollutants are not generated after the treatment process. Also, photocatalysis can simultaneously reduce and oxidise oxoanions as well as organic pollutants respectively.

Assessing short-term effects of magnetite ferrite nanoparticles on Daphnia magna

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are used in a wide range of sectors ranging from electronics to biomedicine, as well as in eutrophicated lake restoration due to their high P, N, and heavy metal adsorption capacity. This study assessed the effects of MNPs on mortality and morphometric changes of D. magna. According to the SEM, the synthesised MNPs were found to have spherical nanoparticles, be uniformly distributed, and have a homolithic size distribution of 50-110 nm. The EDX spectra confirmed the elemental structure and purities of these MNPs. A total of 396 neonates were used for short-term bioassays (96 h) through the MNPs in the laboratory (16:8 photoperiod). Experiments were applied in triplicate for each concentration of CuFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and NiFe2O4 MNPs and their respective control groups. Mortality and morphological measurements of each individual were recorded every 24 h. In the probit analysis, the 96-h LC50 (p < 0.05) for CuFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and NiFe2O4 MNPs was calculated to be 1.455 mg L-1, 39.834 mg L-1, and 21.730 mg L-1, respectively. CuFe2O4 MNPs were found to be more toxic than the other two MNPs. The concentrations of CuFe2O4, CoFe2O4, and NiFe2O4 MNPs drastically affected life span and morphologic growth of D. magna as a result of a short time exposure. The results of this study are useful for assessing what risks they pose to freshwater ecosystems.

Synthesis of MgO micro-rods coated with charred dextrose and its application for the adsorption of selected heavy metals from synthetic and real groundwater

MgO micro-rods supported on porous carbon were synthesized by an economical method and applied for the adsorption of three different heavy metals ions (As (III), Cd (II) and Pb (II)). Here, we used dextrose as the source of carbon during the synthesis. The synthesized material has been characterized by different techniques like XRD, TEM, FE-SEM, BET and FT-IR for the determination of various physical properties. Compared with MgO synthesized without dextrose, the carbon-supported MgO or C-MgO demonstrated consistent rod-shaped morphology, higher surface area and better absorptivity. The adsorption data were analysed using various isotherm models and the Freundlich isotherm model seemed to provide the best fit to the data. The adsorption kinetics data on the other hand was well explicated by the pseudo second-order kinetic model. The maximum adsorption capacity of C-MgO was 508.47 mg g^-1 for As (III), 566.01 mg g^-1 for Cd (II) and 476.19 mg g^-1 for Pb (II), respectively after 6 h of reaction. To check the real-life usability and efficiency of C-MgO, it was added to a groundwater sample which had 169.55 ppb of As (III) and within 20 min it was adsorbed with 99% efficiency. Reusability studies reveal that C-MgO could be used up to 6 times with more than 60% efficiency. This study shows that C-MgO has high adsorptive ability, is an economic and non-toxic material with versatile applications and can be used for groundwater remediation in real life.

Sorption of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) to K2Mn4O9 nanomaterial a Study of the effect of pH, time, temperature and interferences

A Rancieite type material (K₂Mn₄O₉) nanomaterial was synthesized and tested for the removal of chromium (III) and chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions. The synthesized nanomaterial was characterized using powder XRD and SEM. XRD showed weak diffraction peaks at only at the angles associated with K₂Mn₄O₉. The SEM corroborated that the nanoparticles were present; however, the nanoparticles were clustered into larger aggregates. Batch studies were performed to determine the optimum pH, capacity, time dependency, interferences, and the thermodynamics of the binding. The optimum pH for the binding of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were determined to be pH 5 and pH 2, respectively. Isotherm studies were performed at temperatures of 4 , 25 , and 45 for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) and showed binding capacities of 21.7 mg/g, 36.5 mg/g, 41.8 mg/g for Cr(III). The Cr(VI) binding capacities were 4.22 mg/g, 4.08 mg/g, and 3.25 mg/g at the respective temperatures. The thermodynamic studies showed that the binding processes for the reactions were spontaneous and endothermic, with a ΔH was 17.54 kJ/mol for Cr(III) and 6.05 kJ/mol for Cr(VI). The of sorption for Cr(III) were determined to be -3.88 kJ/mol, -5.83 kJ/mol and -7.03 kJ/mol at the aforementioned temperatures. The ΔG values for the Cr(VI) sorption were determined to be -4.89 kJ/mol, -5.64 kJ/mol, and -6.05 kJ/mol. In addition, the ΔS values for Cr(III) and Cr(VI) were determined to be 77.92 J/mol and 39.49 J/mol, respectively. The thermodynamics indicate that the binding of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) is spontaneous and endothermic.

Removal of Arsenic from water using synthetic Fe7S8 nanoparticles

In the present study, pyrrhotite was used to remove arsenite and arsenate from aqueous solutions. The Fe₇S₈ was synthesized using a solvothermal synthetic method and it was characterized using XRD and SEM micrographs. Furthermore, the particle size for the nanomaterial Fe₇S₈ was determined to be 29.86 ± 0.87 nm using Scherer's equation. During the pH profile studies, the optimum pH for the binding of As (III) and As (V) was determined to be pH 4. Batch isotherm studies were performed to determine the binding capacity of As(III) and As(V), which was determined to be 14.3 mg/g and 31.3 mg/g respectively for 25°C. The thermodynamic studies indicated that the ΔG for the sorption of As(III) and As(V) ranged from -115.5 to -0.96 kJ/mol, indicating a spontaneous process was occurring. The enthalpy indicated that an exothermic reaction was occurring during the adsorption in which the ΔH was -53.69 kJ/mol and -32.51 kJ/mol for As(III) and As(V) respectively. In addition, ΔS values for the reaction had negative values of -160.46 J/K and -99.77 J/K for the adsorption of As(III) and As(V) respectively which indicated that the reaction was spontaneous at low temperatures. Furthermore, the sorption for As(III) and As(V) was determined to follow the second order kinetics adsorption model.

Removal of Cu (II) and Pb (II) from Aqueous Solution using engineered Iron Oxide Nanoparticles

Nano-sized Fe₃O₄ and Fe₂O₃ were synthesized using a precipitation method. The nanomaterials were tested as adsorbents for the removal of both Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ ions. The nanomaterials were characterized using X-ray powder diffraction to determine both the phase and the average grain size of the synthesized nanomaterials. Batch pH studies were performed to determine the optimum binding pH for both the Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ to the synthesized nanomaterials. The optimum binding was observed to occur at pH 4 and above. Time dependency studies for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ showed the binding occurred within the first five minutes of contact and remained constant up to 2 hours of contact. Isotherm studies were utilized to determine the binding capacity of each of the nanomaterials for Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺. The binding capacity of Fe₃O₄ with Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ were 37.04 mg/g and 166.67 mg/g, respectively. The binding capacities of the Fe₂O₃ nanomaterials with Cu²⁺ and Pb²⁺ were determined to be 19.61 mg/g and 47.62 mg/g, respectively. In addition, interference studies showed no significant reduction in the binding of either Cu²⁺ or Pb²⁺ to the Fe₃O₄ or Fe₂O₃ nanomaterials in the presence of solutions containing the individual ions Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ or a solution consisting of a combination of all the aforementioned cations in one solution.

Arsenic and antimony in water and wastewater: overview of removal techniques with special reference to latest advances in adsorption

Arsenic and antimony are metalloids, naturally present in the environment but also introduced by human activities. Both elements are toxic and carcinogenic, and their removal from water is of unquestionable importance. The present article begins with an overview of As and Sb chemistry, distribution and toxicity, which are relevant aspects to understand and develop remediation techniques. A brief review of the recent results in analytical methods for speciation and quantification was also provided. The most common As and Sb removal techniques (coagulation/flocculation, oxidation, membrane processes, electrochemical methods and phyto and bioremediation) are presented with discussion of their advantages, drawbacks and the main recent achievements. Literature review on adsorption and biosorption were focused in detail. Considering especially the case of developing countries or rural communities, but also the finite energy resources that over the world are still dependent, recent research have focused especially readily available low-cost adsorbents, as minerals, wastes and biosorbents. Many of these alternative sorbents have been presenting promising results and can be even superior when compared to the commercial ones. Sorption capacities were accurately compiled for As(III,V) and Sb(III,V) species in order to provide to the reader an easy but detailed comparison. Some aspects related to experimental conditions, comparison criteria, lack of research studies, economic aspects and adsorption mechanisms were critically discussed.