The current investigation on aluminum adsorption from an aqueous solution originated from the need to implement a water treatment technology that would decrease the prohibitive aluminum concentrations in the groundwater of the Khibiny Alkaline Massif (Kola Peninsula), which is limiting the use of this water source as a source for the household water supply in the area. TiO2 and vermiculite concrete‐supported ferric oxyhydroxide (VC) were used as adsorbents to remove aluminum from the alkaline aqueous solution, considering the water‐specific natural conditions of the Khibiny aquifer. The effects of pH, initial aluminum concentration, contact time, adsorbent dose, and ions present in Khibiny groundwater were investigated. The results showed that the adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo‐second order model, and the equilibrium data were described well by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The aluminum adsorption on TiO2 exhibited a dramatically higher adsorption rate compared to VC; the adsorption equilibrium was reached in 30 and 240 minutes, respectively, while the maximum TiO2 and VC adsorption capacities were similar and had values of 6.85 and 6.75 mg g−1 as the results of laboratory tests revealed. It was shown that when these two adsorbents worked jointly the capacity reached 8.28 mg g−1 within 60 minutes at pH 9.0. No apparent significant effects on aluminum removal by adsorbents tested in the presence of SO42−, NO3−, and Cl− were observed. The obtained outcomes identify a possible approach and reliable foundation for water treatment technology to solve the problem of elevated aluminum concentrations in the household water of the Khibiny Alkaline Massif area as well as within other locations where the solution of this problem can improve living conditions or industrial technologies.
Groundwater is a major source for the water supply of households in the mining‐intensive area of Khibiny Alkaline Massif, Kola Peninsula, in the Arctic. There are an increasing number of signs of groundwater quality deterioration in the area caused by the presence of elevated aluminum concentrations. Groundwater quality studies using univariate and multivariate statistical methods and the Water Quality Index were conducted to analyze a field dataset including 12 groundwater quality parameters monitored between 1999 and 2012. Descriptive statistics showed that the monitored water did not meet the established drinking water standards for aluminum concentration and pH level. The calculated Spearman correlation coefficient matrix revealed statistically significant associations (α‐level = .05) between Al concentrations and pH values, concentrations of SO42−, NO3−, Cl−, and TDS. Factor analysis using the principal component analysis extraction method (FA/PCA) identified four major influencing factors. Altogether the factors captured 67.53% of the dataset total variance. The outcomes of the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) revealed that the 12 monitored groundwater quality parameters can be grouped into three clusters where the concentration of Al and pH level formed a separate cluster. The calculated score values of the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index indicated a deterioration of groundwater quality over the monitoring period.
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