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Novel adsorptive methods for the effective arsenic(III) removal from polluted water

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Abstract

An activated carbon synthesized from the stems of Spathodea plant has shown good adsorptivity for arsenic(III) ions. When the activated carbon is doped with green synthesized nCeO2, the adsorptivity for arsenic(III) ions is further increased. But these mixed adsorbents suffer from “agglomeration.” To overcome it, nCeO2 and active carbon are immobilized in aluminum-alginate beads. Thus, the obtained beads have shown further enhanced adsorption due to the cumulative advantages of nanoparticles, activated carbon, and Al-alginate beads. The beads are characterized using XRD, FTIR, FESEM, and EDX techniques “before” and “after” arsenic adsorption. The beads are investigated as adsorbent for arsenic(III) removal. The optimum conditions for 95.35% removal of arsenic from initial arsenic concentration of 5.0 mg/L are as follows: pH, 7; contact time, 30 min; dosage of beads, 0.02 g/100 mL; rpm, 300; and temperature, 30 ± 1 °C. Common co-anions, except phosphate, marginally interfered. Spent beads can be regenerated and reused up to five cycles. The beads have exhibited a high arsenic(III) sorption capacity, 40.92 mg/g. The sorption nature is assessed by thermodynamic, adsorption isotherms, and kinetic models. The developed method is successfully applied to treat the real ground water samples. The novelty of the present investigation is that an effective, eco-friendly, and robust sorbent with high sorption capacities is developed for the removal of highly toxic arsenic(III) ions from wastewater.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, for providing necessary facilities to pursue this research investigation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation, Green Fields, Guntur Dt., Vaddeswaram, AP, 522 502, India

    Wondwosen Kebede Biftu & Kunta Ravindhranath

  2. Ethiopian Radiation Protection Authority, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Wondwosen Kebede Biftu

Authors
  1. Wondwosen Kebede Biftu
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  2. Kunta Ravindhranath
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Contributions

Prof. Dr. K. Ravindhranath: concept development and guidance during the progress of this research work. Dr. Wondwosen Kebede Biftu, research scholar: experimental part.

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Correspondence to Kunta Ravindhranath.

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Highlights

• Nano-CeO2 particles of average size 8.44 nm are synthesized via green routes.

• Al-alginate beads doped with “nCeO2-active carbon” are used for arsenic(III) removal.

• Adsorption capacity of beads is 40.92 mg/g and they can be regenerated.

• Thermodynamic, adsorption isotherm, and kinetic parameters are evaluated.

• Adsorbent is successfully applied to treat As-polluted real groundwater samples.

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Biftu, W.K., Ravindhranath, K. Novel adsorptive methods for the effective arsenic(III) removal from polluted water. Biomass Conv. Bioref. (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-022-03540-8

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