UPTAKE BEHAVIOR OF ARSENATE FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION USING FERRIC-COATED MESOPOROUS CERAMIC ADSORBENT

Broken mesoporous ceramic filter was reutilized by coating with ferric solution through a simple loading method enhanced with heating at a moderate temperature for arsenate uptake from aqueous solution. BET, XRF, XRD, and SEM methods were applied for the adsorbent characterization. The adsorption study was conducted in a batch mode to investigate kinetics, isotherms, and the effect of solution pH and co-existing anions. The pseudo-second order kinetic model well fitted the experimental data (R2 = 0.9997). The maximum arsenate adsorption capacity (2.27 mg/g) was derived from the better described Langmuir isotherm model (R2 = 0.9992). The adsorbent expressed high arsenate adsorption capacity over a pH range of 4-10. The uptake behavior is a favorable and physical adsorption process based on the value of separation factor and mean sorption energy. The presence of co-existing anions decreased the arsenate adsorption capacity in the following order: NO3-< SO42- < PO43-. The new ferric-coated mesoporous ceramic adsorbent could be an effective and low-cost adsorbent for arsenate removal from water.