Arsenic and heavy-metal-contaminated environments are a major concern due to their negative impacts on exposed people and ecosystems. In this study, sludge from an iron-ore processing area was used as an adsorbent to remove As, Mn, Zn, Cd, and Pb from aqueous solutions. The adsorption capacity of target adsorbates was investigated in batch experiments of both single- and mixed-metal solutions. The batch studies show that the maximum Langmuir adsorption capacities of the heavy metals onto the adsorbent occurred in the order Pb > As > Cd > Zn > Mn, and ranged from 0.710 mg/g to 1.113 mg/g in the single-metal solutions and from 0.370 mg/g to 1.059 mg/g in the mixed-metal solutions. The results of the kinetic experiments are consistent with pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order models, with a slightly better fit to the latter. Adsorption performances indicate that iron-ore sludge can simultaneously adsorb multiple metal ions and is a promising adsorbent for the removal of toxic pollutants from water.

This study was conducted to assess the removal of arsenic (As) and heavy metals from mining wastewater by the combination of adsorption, using modified iron-ore drainage sludge, and horizontal-subsurface-flow constructed wetland with common reed (Phragmites australis). The pilot-scale experiment with a constant flow rate of 5 m3/day was operated for four months using real wastewater from a Pb–Zn mine in northern Vietnam. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used for elemental analysis in wastewater and plant. X-ray diffraction (XRD), surface charge measurements (by a particle charge detector (PCD)), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and surface area Brunauer–Emmet–Teller (BET) measurements were performed to determine the characteristics of the adsorbent. The results showed that the average removals of As, Mn, Cd, Zn, and Pb by the combined system with limestone substrate during four months were 80.3%, 96.9%, 79.6%, 52.9%, and 38.7%, respectively. The use of another constructed wetland substrate, laterite, demonstrated better removal efficiency of As than limestone. The concentrations of As and heavy metals in the effluent were lower than the limits established by the QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT for industrial wastewater, which indicated the feasibility of combining adsorption and constructed wetland for the treatment of mining wastewater.