Characteristics of arsenic adsorption from aqueous solution: Effect of arsenic species and natural adsorbents

Batch and column experiments were conducted on As adsorption from aqueous solution by natural solids to test the feasibility of these materials to act as adsorbents for As removal from groundwater and drinking water. The solids considered are natural hematite and natural siderite. The As species studied are As(V), As(III) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA). Arsenic(III), As(V) and DMA were removed to different extents by the solids studied from water solutions containing these three As species, with the highest efficiency for As(V). In aqueous solutions with a mixture of As species, adsorption kinetics depend on the species. On both materials, As(V) was preferentially adsorbed in the batches and first reached equilibrium, followed by DMA and As(III). The As adsorption took place more slowly on natural hematite and natural siderite compared with ferrihydrite. The results demonstrate that the amount of As removed from As(III) batches was greater than that from As(V) batches due to a surface alteration of the solids caused by As(III) oxidation. Although the highest efficiency for As retention was observed on hematite HIO1 in the batch experiments, siderite used as column filling was more efficient in removing As from water containing the As species studied in comparison with hematite. The coating of fresh Fe(III)-oxides was much more intensive in the siderite-packed column than in the hematite-packed column. The combination of siderite and hematite would promote the column filling performance in removing As from aqueous solution.