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Enhancement of As(V) adsorption onto activated sludge by methylation treatment

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Abstract

Biosorption properties of arsenate [As(V)] onto activated sludge were investigated in batch systems. The adsorption of As(V) onto sludge increased from 23 to 266 μg/g dry weight through the methylation of the activated sludge. This increase resulted from neutralization of carboxylic groups via the methylation process. The pH effect of As(V) uptake was also investigated and As(V) adsorption by methylated sludge decreased significantly at high pH (pH > 11) due to competition between As(V) and OH− ions for binding sites distributed on sludge surfaces. In contrast, low pH favored As(V) adsorption by methylated sludge because of the elevated quantities of positively charged functional groups. The results suggest that methylated activated sludge may provide promising applications for the simultaneous removal and separation of As(V) from aqueous effluents.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) Research Fund and National Research Laboratory Project (Arsenic Geoenvironment Laboratory) to K.-W. Kim.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Resource Management, Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA), Seoul, 130-650, South Korea

    So-Young Kang

  2. Department of Environmental Engineering, Kongju National University, Cheonan, 330-717, South Korea

    Dong-Wook Kim

  3. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, 500-712, South Korea

    Kyoung-Woong Kim

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  1. So-Young Kang
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Correspondence to Kyoung-Woong Kim.

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Kang, SY., Kim, DW. & Kim, KW. Enhancement of As(V) adsorption onto activated sludge by methylation treatment. Environ Geochem Health 29, 313–318 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-007-9096-y

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