Field pilot evaluations of iron oxide‐based arsenic adsorption media

Abstract

Field pilot tests were conducted with three hybrid adsorptive media to evaluate their performance at removing arsenic from groundwater. The media are based on polymeric resins loaded with iron oxyhydroxide nanoparticles and were evaluated with a commercially available granular ferric oxide media as a reference material at well sites in New Hampshire and Arizona. A full‐scale arsenic removal system in Connecticut is also discussed. The water chemistries of these three locations varied in terms of pH, arsenic concentration and speciation, and silica and phosphate content. Although all media were hybrid iron oxide materials, they exhibited different levels of performance and capacity under the specific pilot conditions because the effective operational life to remove arsenic is dependent on the chemistry of the treated water as well as the porosity of the base resin. The availability of the iron phase for arsenic binding is an important parameter, particularly in dynamic column applications.

Engineering metal (hydr)oxide sorbents for removal of arsenate and similar weak-acid oxyanion contaminants: A critical review with emphasis on factors governing sorption processes

“…Sorbents represent an ideal platform for engineering simple and inexpensive systems capable of simultaneously removing multiple harmful weak-acid oxyanions from complex water matrices. In the last two decades, there has been a rapid expansion in development of novel sorbents for treatment of weak-acid oxyanions (Bang et al, 2011;Ippolito et al, 2011;Mohan and Pittman, 2007;Möller, 2011;Westerhoff et al, 2006). However, the majority of this work has been based on the trial and error approach, rather than on a fundamental understanding of the physico-chemical principles that govern the performances of a sorbent in a given groundwater matrix (Bleiman and Mishael, 2010;Camacho et al, 2011;Diamadopoulos et al, 1993;Duc et al, 2006;Gibbons and Gagnon, 2011;Kamei-Ishikawa et al, 2008;Maeda et al, 1990;Monteil-Rivera et al, 2000;Ramana and Sengupta, 1992;Park and Kim, 2011;Pillewan et al, 2011;Pirilä et al, 2011;Prathap and Namasivayam, 2010;Saikia et al, 2011;Sari et al 2012;Suzuki et al, 1997;Li et al 2011;Ma and Tu, 2011;Mariussen et al, 2012;Mohan and Pittman, 2007;Mostafa et al, 2011;Mou et al, 2011;Rovira et al, 2008;Tanboonchuy et al, 2011;Watkins et al, 2006;Wei et al, 2012;Yang et al 2011;Zhang et al, 2009aZhang et al, , 2009bZheng et al, 2011).…”

Arsenic Removal via Cellulose-Based Organic/Inorganic Hybrid Materials from Drinking Water

“…Normal natural waters contain, in general, concentrations of total arsenic, as As(V) and/or As(III), lower than 10 µg As/L [2]. Various techniques [3][4][5] have been developed in order to decrease contaminated waters arsenic total concentrations to values lower than 10 µg As/L, but such low levels are difficult to be attained [6]. The main aim of this work was to study the ability of cellulose/silica derived hybrids materials to remove arsenic from laboratory prepared aqueous solutions, to levels lower than 10 µg As/L.…”