Title: Development of modified kaolins for the removal of As (III) in waters

Authors: Estefanía Baigorria; Leonardo Cano; Karim Sapag; Vera Alvarez

Addresses: Grupo de Materiales Compuestos Termoplásticos (CoMP) – Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA), CONICET – Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Av. Colón 10850, Mar del Plata, Argentina ' Grupo de Materiales Compuestos Termoplásticos (CoMP) – Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA), CONICET – Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Av. Colón 10850, Mar del Plata, Argentina ' Laboratorio de Sólidos Porosos (LabSoP), Instituto de Física Aplicada (INFAP), CONICET- Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Av. Ejército de los Andes 950, San Luis, Argentina ' Grupo de Materiales Compuestos Termoplásticos (CoMP) – Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (INTEMA), CONICET – Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Av. Colón 10850, Mar del Plata, Argentina

Abstract: Some inorganic species of arsenic (As) present in drinking waters are highly dangerous for human health. Adsorption technique is considered a promising technology for the selective removal of As from aqueous systems. Iron (Fe), and iron-containing clays are adsorbents commonly used for arsenic elimination from water due to the strong affinity between Fe and inorganic species of As. Natural and acid-treated kaolinites, impregnated with iron oxides (30 % and 20 % of the Fe (III)) were developed in the present work. The selected clays were physico-chemically characterised, and the As adsorption capability was tested in batch experiments at pH = 7. Arsenic removal studies showed 97% effectiveness for the 30% iron sedimented kaolinite at 1 h of treatment, being the most effective developed material. These preliminary results showed that the Fe (III) impregnated kaolinites could be considered as promising adsorbent materials for As removal from aqueous systems.

Keywords: arsenic; kaolinite; remediation; waters; iron; removal; pollution; aqueous systems; kaolins; adsorption.

DOI: 10.1504/IJENVH.2020.115805

International Journal of Environment and Health, 2020 Vol.10 No.2, pp.116 - 132

Received: 20 Mar 2020
Accepted: 29 Aug 2020
Published online: 23 Jun 2021 *

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