Improvement of As(III) removal with diatomite overlay nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI-D): Adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetic studies

Abstract

Nanoscale zero-valent iron coated on diatomite (nZVI-D) was successfully synthesized as a composite material. It is the combination of nZVI and diatomite which has been proved to be a promising material in arsenite or As(III) removal. The result showed that 25.5% of As(III) was removed using diatomite only but more than 95% of As(III) was removed using nZVI-D, at the same contact time of 60 min and pH 6. The experimental isotherm data for As(III) adsorption at different initial concentrations were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin-Radushkevich equations. Among these three, the equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic adsorption was also studied using the pseudo-first, second-order, and intraparticle diffusion equations. The data were well explained by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. From the results of kinetic adsorption and the adsorption isotherm, it can be concluded that arsenite adsorption was controlled by the mass transfer and adsorption process.