Removal of As(III) and As(V) by natural and synthetic metal oxides

The removal properties of As(III) and As(V) by the several metal oxides having different mineral type and content of metals were investigated in batch and column reactors. The used metal oxides were Fe-oxide loaded sand (ILS), Mn-oxide loaded sand (MLS), activated alumina (AA), sericite (SC) and iron sand (IS). From the pH-edge adsorption experiments with AA and ILS, maximum As(III) adsorption was observed around neutral pH while As(V) adsorption was followed an anionic-type behavior. Among five metal oxides, AA showed the greatest removal capacity for both As(III) and As(V) through adsoption process but it has little oxidation capacity for As(III). Eventhough IS had much greater content of Fe-oxides than ILS, it showed a relatively lower removal capacity for both As(III) and As(V). This result suggests that adsorption of arsenic onto metal oxides is controlled by not only the contents of Fe-oxides but also mineral type of Fe-oxides. Column tests were performed at different combinations of metal oxides in a column reactor to find the best column system, which effectively treat both As(III) and As(V) at the same time. Among several combinations, the column reactors packed with MLS-AA and MLS-ILS showed a near complete oxidation of As(III) by MLS for a long time and the greatest adsorption of total arsenic compared to the column reactor packed with MLS-IS.