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Porous Materials Modified with Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Arsenic Removal in Drinking Water

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Abstract

The contamination of drinking water with arsenic has been a problem in a lot of countries around the world because of its toxicological and carcinogenic effects on human health. Porous materials modified with Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4 NPs) represent convenient removers for that contaminant. A co-precipitation method of Fe(III) and Fe(II) in alkaline media was applied to obtain Fe3O4 NPs. In a first stage, single nanoparticles were synthesized and stabilized with carboxylic acids. A characterization with attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms a magnetite-type structure. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and calculations from XRD data using Scherrer’s equation indicate an average particle size of 13 nm and an average crystallite size of 10 nm, both independent of the stabilizer used. Then, the co-precipitation method studied was applied to modify kaolin, bentonite, diatomite, and silica and thus prepare magnetic composites having support-magnetite weight ratios of 2:1. Among them, silica-modified material presented the best hydraulic characteristics, an important aspect for large-scale applications such as removal under gravity. This composite has the capacity to remove up to 80 and 70% for initial concentrations of 25 and 50 μg/L, respectively, representing a convenient remover for processes developed in subsequent stages or in continuous flow.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Extensión (Grant: 5402-1460-8101) for supporting the research reported in this article. Thanks are also given to Ana Lucía Moya for her support in synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoparticles, Marit Möller for performing removal tests and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for financing her work in the frame of the Research Internships in Science and Engineering program, Ana Victoria Cubero for her support in Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy analyses, Luis Fernando Alvarado for TEM measurements, Dr.-Ing. Teodolito Guillén-Girón and Esteban Hernández for XRD analyses, and Dr. Dionisio Gutiérrez-Fallas and Dr. Ernesto Montero-Zeledón for Raman spectroscopy analyses. Dr. Jorge Cubero-Sesín is acknowledged for helpful discussions of XRD results.

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  1. Centro de Investigación y de Servicios Químicos y Microbiológicos (CEQIATEC), Escuela de Química, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, 159-7050, Cartago, 30101, Costa Rica

    Allen Puente-Urbina & Virginia Montero-Campos

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  1. Allen Puente-Urbina
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Correspondence to Allen Puente-Urbina.

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Puente-Urbina, A., Montero-Campos, V. Porous Materials Modified with Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Arsenic Removal in Drinking Water. Water Air Soil Pollut 228, 374 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-017-3513-3

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