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Synthesis of Fe3O4-loaded porous carbons developed from rice husk for removal of arsenate from aqueous solution

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Abstract

A simple one-step synthetic approach using rice husk has been developed to prepare magnetic Fe3O4-loaded porous carbons composite (MRH) for removal of arsenate (As(V)). The characteristics of adsorbent were evaluated by transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis. On account of the combined advantages of rice husk carbons and Fe3O4 nanoparticles, the synthesized MRH composites showed excellent adsorption efficiency for aqueous As(V). The removal of As(V) by the MRH was studied as a function of contact time, initial concentration of As(V), and media pH. The adsorption kinetics of As(V) exhibited a rapid sorption dynamics by a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, implying the mechanism of chemisorption. The adsorption data of As(V) were fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum uptake amount (q m ) was calculated as 4.33 mg g−1. The successive regeneration and reuse studies showed that the MRH kept the sorption efficiencies over five cycles. The obtained results demonstrate that the MRH can be utilized as an efficient and low-cost adsorbent for removal of As(V) from aqueous solutions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors greatly acknowledge the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41301338), Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 13JJ4069), and Scientific Research Staring Foundation for the introduced talents of Hunan Agricultural University (No. 12YJ12).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, People’s Republic of China

    S. Luo, F. Wang, Q.-R. Zeng, J.-H. Shao & J.-D. Gu

  2. Key Laboratory of Songliao Aquatic Environment, Ministry of Education, Jilin Jianzhu University, Changchun, 130118, People’s Republic of China

    M.-N. Shen

  3. Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

    J.-D. Gu

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  1. S. Luo
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  2. M.-N. Shen
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  3. F. Wang
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  4. Q.-R. Zeng
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  5. J.-H. Shao
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Correspondence to S. Luo.

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Luo, S., Shen, MN., Wang, F. et al. Synthesis of Fe3O4-loaded porous carbons developed from rice husk for removal of arsenate from aqueous solution. Int. J. Environ. Sci. Technol. 13, 1137–1148 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-0955-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13762-016-0955-x

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