Arsenic leachability in water treatment adsorbents

Chuanyong Jing, Suqin Liu, Manish Patel, Xiaoguang Meng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

99 Scopus citations

Abstract

Arsenic leachability in water treatment adsorbents was studied using batch leaching tests, surface complexation modeling and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. Spent adsorbents were collected from five pilot-scale filters that were tested for removal of arsenic from groundwater in Southern New Jersey. The spent media included granular ferric hydroxide (GFH), granular ferric oxide, titanium dioxide, activated alumina, and modified activated alumina. The As leachability determined with the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP, 0.1 M acetate solution) was below 180 μg L-1 for all spent media. The leachate As concentration in the California Waste Extraction Test (0.2 M citrate solution) was more than 10 times higher than that in the TCLP and reached as high as 6650 μg L-1 in the spent GFH sample. The EXAFS results indicate that As forms inner-sphere bidentate binuclear surface complexes on all five adsorbent surfaces. The As adsorption/desorption behaviors in each media were described with the charge distribution multisite complexation model. This study improved the understanding of As bonding structures on adsorptive media surfaces and As leaching behavior for different adsorbents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)5481-5487
Number of pages7
JournalEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volume39
Issue number14
DOIs
StatePublished - 15 Jul 2005

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Arsenic leachability in water treatment adsorbents'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this