(215ac) Removal of Phosphate and Arsenic From Aqueous Solution By Metal(hydr-)Oxide Coated Sand | AIChE

(215ac) Removal of Phosphate and Arsenic From Aqueous Solution By Metal(hydr-)Oxide Coated Sand

Authors 

Huang, Y. - Presenter, University of California, Santa Barbara
Keller, A. A., University of California, Santa Barbara



Phosphate and arsenic are generally found as contaminants in water bodies due to various anthropogenic sources, such as mining activity, discharges of industrial and domestic wastewater as well as agricultural drainage. Both of them can cause wide-spread environmental problems: phosphate can contribute to eutrophication in aqueous systems as well as posting a great threat to aquatic environments, and arsenic has adverse effect on the entire biota, which is known as a primary concern to humans exposed to such systems. Since phosphate and arsenic have same chemical structure as well as have similar chemical behavior, we developed cheap and easily available adsorbents such as iron and manganese oxide-coated sands to treat them efficiently. In this study, the effects of the solution pH and sand sizes on the coating efficiency and mineral type of both iron and manganese during the preparation of manganese-coated sand (MCS), iron-coated sand (ICS) and iron and manganese-coated sand (IMCS) as well as on the removal of phosphate and arsenic were evaluated. Iron and manganese-coated sand can achieve 100% removal of phosphate and 90% removal rate on arsenic in certain environmental conditions. Removal of phosphate and arsenic under different conditions were also evaluated to provide the optimized solution.