Applications of goethite nanoparticles for removal of arsenic and mercury toxic ions from synthetic wastewater

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD candidate, Department of Geology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

2 Associate professor, Department of Geology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

Contamination of water resources with toxic elements is one of the challenges of the
today's world. In this research, application of Goethite nanoparticles in removing
contamination of arsenic and mercury from synthetic wastewater in a batch mode is
investigated. For this purpose, the effect of different factors including pH, adsorbent dosage,
contact time, and initial concentration on the extent of adsorption of arsenic and mercury by
the Goethite nanoparticles was studied. The maximum extent of arsenic adsorption in this
study being 99.95% occurred at pH=4, adsorbent dose of 4 g/L, initial concentration of 10
mg/L and after 120 min from the beginning of the reaction. Examination of the effect of pH
on the extent of mercury adsorption showed that the maximum mercury adsorption occured
at pH=8. Furthermore, the adsorbent dose of 3 g/L with initial concentration of
10 mg/L, following 30 min from the beginning of the reaction caused mercury removal
from aqueous solution by up to 72.45%. Investigation of the equation of isotherms of
Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption for arsenic and mercury shows better congruence of
these ions with Langmuir isotherms. The kinetic studies showed that the As and Hg
adsorption mechanism was well described by pseudo-second-order kinetic model. This
study indicates that Goethite nanoparticles could be used for removing the toxic arsenic and
mercury ions from wastewater.


Keywords


Bansal, R., Vastola, F., and Walker, P. 1970. Studies on ultra-clean carbon surfaces-IV. Decomposition of carbon-oxygen surface complexes. Carbon. 8 (4), 443-448.
Bansal, R., Vastola, F., and Walker, P. 1971. Studies on ultra-clean carbon surfaces-III. Kinetics of chemisorption of hydrogen on graphon. Carbon. 9 (2), 185-192.
Bansal, R.C., and Goyal, M. 2005. Activated carbon adsorption. CRC press, 520p.
Beck, J., Vartuli, J., Roth, W.J., Leonowicz, M., Kresge, C., Schmitt, K., Chu, C., Olson,     D.H., Sheppard, E., and McCullen, S. 1992. A new family of mesoporous molecular      sieves prepared with liquid crystal templates. Journal of the American Chemical Society.  114 (27), 10834-10843.
Blesa, M.A., Magaz, G., Salfity, J.A., and Weisz, A.D. 1997. Structure and reactivity of colloidal metal oxide particles immersed in water. Solid State Ionics. 101, 1235-1241.
 
Bolong, N., Ismail, A., Salim, M.R., and Matsuura, T. 2009. A review of the effects of emerging contaminants in wastewater and options for their removal. Desalination. 239 (1-3), 229-246.
Cambier, P. 1986. Infrared study of goethites of varying crystallinity and particle size: II. Crystallographic and morphological changes in series of synthetic goethites. Clay Minerals.  21 (2), 201-210.
Chen, H., Wei, G., Han, X., Li, S., Wang, P., Chubik, M., Gromov, A., Wang, Z., and Han, W. 2011. Large-scale synthesis of hierarchical alpha-FeOOH flowers by ultrasonic-assisted hydrothermal route. Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics. 22 (3), 252-259.
Cornell, R.M., and Schwertmann, U. 2003. The iron oxides: structure, properties, reactions, occurrences and uses. John Wiley & Sons, 664p.
Cwiertny, D.M., Hunter, G.J., Pettibone, J.M., Scherer, M.M., and Grassian, V.H. 2008.  Surface chemistry and dissolution of α-FeOOH nanorods and microrods: Environmental implications of size-dependent interactions with oxalate. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 113 (6), 2175-2186.
Grieger, K.D., Fjordbøge, A., Hartmann, N.B., Eriksson, E., Bjerg, P.L., and Baun, A. 2010. Environmental benefits and risks of zero-valent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) for in situ remediation: risk mitigation or trade-off? Journal of Contaminant Hydrology. 118(3), 165-183.
Jacobson, A.T., and Fan, M. 2019. Evaluation of natural goethite on the removal of arsenate and selenite from water. Journal of Environmental Sciences. 76, 133-141.
Kosmulski, M. 2001. Chemical properties of material surfaces, vol 102. CRC press, 754p.
Langmuir, I. 1918. The adsorption of gases on plane surfaces of glass, mica and platinum. Journal of the American Chemical society. 40 (9), 1361-1403.
Liu, H., Sun, X., Yin, C., and Hu, C. 2008. Removal of phosphate by mesoporous ZrO2. Journal of hazardous materials. 151 (2-3), 616-622.
Lohani, M.B., Singh, A., Rupainwar, D., and Dhar, D. 2008. Studies on efficiency of guava (Psidium guajava) bark as bioadsorbent for removal of Hg (II) from aqueous solutions. Journal of hazardous materials. 159 (2), 626-629.
Lopez-Ramon, M.V., Stoeckli, F., Moreno-Castilla, C., and Carrasco-Marin, F. 1999. On the characterization of acidic and basic surface sites on carbons by various techniques. Carbon. 37 (8), 1215-1221.
Milačič, R., Zuliani, T., Vidmar, J., Bergant, M., Kalogianni, E., Smeti, E., Skoulikidis, N., and Ščančar, J. 2019. Potentially toxic elements in water, sediments and fish of the Evrotas River under variable water discharges. Science of the Total Environment. 648, 1087-1096.
Musić, S., Krehula, S., and Popović, S. 2004. Effect of HCl additions on forced hydrolysis of FeCl3 solutions. Materials letters. 58 (21), 2640-2645.
O’Carroll, D., Sleep, B., Krol, M., Boparai, H., and Kocur, C. 2013. Nanoscale zero valent    iron and bimetallic particles for contaminated site remediation. Advances in Water Resources. 51, 104-122.
Rashidi, F., Sarabi, R.S., Ghasemi, Z., and Seif, A. 2010. Kinetic, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies for the removal of lead (II) and copper (II) ions from aqueous solutions by nanocrystalline. Superlattices and microstructures. 48 (6), 577-591.
Sari, A., and Tuzen, M. 2009. Removal of mercury (II) from aqueous solution using moss (Drepanocladus revolvens) biomass: equilibrium, thermodynamic and kinetic studies. Journal of hazardous materials. 171 (1), 500-507.
Saxena, S., Prasad, M., Amritphale, S., and Chandra, N. 2001. Adsorption of cyanide    from aqueous solutions at pyrophyllite surface. Separation and Purification Technology.     24 (1), 263-270.
Schwertmann, U., and Cornell, R.M. 2008. Iron oxides in the laboratory: preparation and characterization. John Wiley & Sons.
Su, M., Fang, Y., Li, B., Yin, W., Gu, J., Liang, H., Li, P., and Wu, J. 2019. Enhanced hexavalent chromium removal by activated carbon modified with micro-sized goethite using a facile impregnation method. Science of the total environment. 647, 47-56.
 Tripathy, S.S., and Raichur, A.M. 2008. Enhanced adsorption capacity of activated alumina by impregnation with alum for removal of As (V) from water. Chemical Engineering Journal.  138 (1), 179-186.
Vollprecht, D., Krois, L.M., Sedlazeck, K.P., Müller, P., Mischitz, R., Olbrich, T., and              Pomberger, R. 2019. Removal of critical metals from waste water by zero-valent iron. Journal of Cleaner Production. 208, 1409-1420.
Wang, L., Fields, K.A., and Chen, A.S. 2000. Arsenic removal from drinking water by ion exchange and activated alumina plants. National Risk Management Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, US Environmental Protection Agency, 152p.
Yang, W., Kan, A.T., Chen, W., and Tomson, M.B. 2010. pH-dependent effect of zinc on arsenic adsorption to magnetite nanoparticles. Water research. 44 (19), 5693-5701.