Proceedings (Oct 2018)

Removal of As(III) from Water Using “Green” Synthetized Zero Valent Iron in the Presence of Competing Phosphate Ions

  • Đurđa Kerkez,
  • Anita Leovac Maćerak,
  • Milena Bečelić-Tomin,
  • Dragana Tomašević Pilipović,
  • Jovana Jokić,
  • Nataša Slijepčević,
  • Božo Dalmacija

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2201286
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 2, no. 20
p. 1286

Abstract

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Nanoscale zero valent iron (nZVI) has been widely investigated for treatment of environmental contaminants. Various technologies are currently available to remove As(III) and phosphate from aqueous environment, but among them, adsorption is most common because its simplicity, treatment stability and cost effectiveness. This study is focused on the removal efficiency of As(III) in the presence of competing phosphate ions by nZVI synthesized using polyphenols from oak and mulberry leaf extracts producing OAK-nZVI and M-nZVI, respectively. The highest removal efficiency of As(III) was obtained for M-nZVI (up to 91% at all nZVI doses). 87% removal was obtained for OAK-nZVI. The same conclusion could be retrieved in the case of PO43− removal (the highest removal, up to 78% at all nZVI doses for M-nZVI). Concerning OAK-nZVI, removal efficiencies increased with increasing nZVI doses (21–76% for doses 2–16 mL). Adsorption of As(III) in the presence of competing PO43− ions on M-nZVI, decreased from 91% to 79%. On OAK-nZVI material, significant changes could not be observed. One can conclude that the presence of PO43− ions in arsenic aqueous solutions would reduce effectiveness of the M-nZVI for As(III) remediation. This conclusion was supported by the fact that M-nZVI particles had a greater antioxidative capacity in comparison to OAK-nZVI which directly influenced nanoparticles synthesis and stability.

Keywords