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Electrocoagulated Metal Hydroxide Sludge for Fluoride and Arsenic Removal in Aqueous Solution: Characterization, Kinetic, and Equilibrium Studies

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Abstract

The present study aimed to minimize the environmental impact from the disposal of electrocoagulated metal hydroxide sludge (EMHS) generated during an electrocoagulation process using aluminum electrode by reusing it as an effective adsorbent for simultaneous removal of fluoride ion (F−) and arsenic (As) from aqueous solutions. The adsorbent was characterized by using coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES), surface areas and porosity properties, point of zero charge, and X-Ray diffractometry techniques. The surface morphology of adsorbent was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dissolution of the adsorbent in function of pH was analyzed in batch experiments. Batch adsorption tests were employed to evaluate the removal and adsorption capacity of adsorbent, under conditions of contact time and adsorbate concentration. In order to determine maximum adsorption capacity of adsorbent and to understand the nature of reaction on their surface, the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm were calculated. Preferable fitting of the Langmuir isotherm over Freundlich isotherm suggests monolayer coverage of adsorbate at the surface of the adsorbent. Data obtained were also applied to pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order equations. The rates of adsorption were found to conform to pseudo-second-order kinetics. The findings of this study revealed that the reuse of EMHS is a promising and efficient adsorbent in order to diminish the fluoride and arsenic pollution from drinking water.

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Abbreviations

WHO:

World Health Organization

EMHS:

Electrocoagulated metal hydroxide sludge

EC:

Electrocoagulation

ICP-OES:

Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

pHpzc :

Point of zero charge

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

BSE:

Signal backscattered electrons

EDS:

Energy dispersive spectroscopy

RL :

Separation factor or equilibrium parameter

SSE:

Sum of error squares

PSO:

Particle Swarm Optimization

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT) for their financial support to this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto Tecnológico de Sonora (ITSON), Departamento de Biotecnología y Ciencias Alimentarias, 5 de Febrero 818 Sur C.P, 85000, Cuidad Obregón, Sonora, Mexico

    C. García-Gómez, I.C. Romero-Soto, V. A. Burboa-Charis & P. Gortáres-Moroyoqui

  2. Facultad de Agronomía, campus de ciencias agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León (UANL), Francisco Villa S/N, C. P, 66050, General Escobedo, Nuevo León, Mexico

    C. García-Gómez

  3. Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología del Agua (IMTA), Paseo Cuauhnahuac 8532 Progreso C.P, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, Mexico

    M. L. Rivera-Huerta, F. Almazán-García & A. Martín-Domínguez

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  1. C. García-Gómez
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  2. M. L. Rivera-Huerta
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  3. F. Almazán-García
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  4. A. Martín-Domínguez
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  6. V. A. Burboa-Charis
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Correspondence to P. Gortáres-Moroyoqui.

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Supplementary Fig. S1

SEM micrographs and EDS spectrum showing the main elemental chemical composition from EMHS: (a) 100 μm reference scale, and (b) 30 μm reference scale (JPEG 313 kb)

High resolution image file (TIFF 495 kb)

Supplementary Fig. S2

SEM micrographs and EDS spectrum showing the presence of Au from EMHS: a) 300 μm reference scale, b) 100 μm reference scale, c) 30 μm reference scale, and d) EDS spectrum (JPEG 376 kb)

High resolution image file (TIFF 701 kb)

Supplementary Fig. S3

SEM micrographs and EDS spectrum showing the presence of Fe from EMHS: (a) 20 μm reference scale, and (b) 40 μm reference scale (JPEG 284 kb)

High resolution image file (TIFF 419 kb)

Supplementary Fig. S4

SEM micrographs and EDS spectrum showing the presence of Pb from EMHS (JPEG 156 kb)

High resolution image file (TIFF 238 kb)

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García-Gómez, C., Rivera-Huerta, M.L., Almazán-García, F. et al. Electrocoagulated Metal Hydroxide Sludge for Fluoride and Arsenic Removal in Aqueous Solution: Characterization, Kinetic, and Equilibrium Studies. Water Air Soil Pollut 227, 96 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-016-2783-5

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