Arsenic removal from acidic industrial wastewater by ultrasonic activated phosphorus pentasulfide

Arsenic is one of the main harmful elements in industrial wastewater.How to remove arsenic has always been one of the research hotspots in academic circles.In the process of arsenic removal by traditional sulfuration,the use of traditional sulfurizing agent will introduce new metal cations,which will affect the recycling of acid.In this study,phosphorus pentasulfide (P_(2)S_(5)) was used as sulfurizing agent,which hydrolyzed to produce H_(3)PO_(4) and H_(2)S without introducing new metal cations.The effect of ultrasound on arsenic removal by P_(2)S_(5) was studied.Under the action of ultrasound,the utilization of P_(2)S_(5) was improved and the reaction time was shortened.The effects of S/As molar ratio and reaction time on arsenic removal rate were investigated under ultrasonic conditions.Ultrasonic enhanced heat and mass transfer so that the arsenic removal rate of 94.5%could be achieved under the conditions of S/As molar ratio of 2.1:1 and reaction time of 20 min.In the first 60 min,under the same S/As molar ratio and reaction time,the ultrasonic hydrolysis efficiency of P_(2)S_(5) was higher.This is because P_(2)S_(5) forms ([(P_(2)S_(4))])^(2+)under the ultrasonic action,and the structure is damaged,which is easier to be hydrolyzed.In addition,the precipitation after arsenic removal was characterized and analyzed by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscope-energy dispersive spectrometer,X-ray fluorescence spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.Our research avoids the introduction of metal cations in the arsenic removal process,and shortens the reaction time.

Determination of arsenic speciation in secondary zinc oxide and arsenic leachability

The species of arsenic in secondary zinc oxide generated from fuming furnace were investigated. The results revealed that there are mainly three types of secondary zinc oxide based on three arsenic species. The main phase of As is As2O3 in type Ⅰ, zinc arsenite （Zn（AsO2）2） in type Ⅱ and lead arsenate （Pb（As206）, Pb4As2O9） in type Ⅲ, respectively. Selective leaching of zinc oxide of type Ⅱ was carried out. The leaching rate of As kept at 65%-70% with 30 g/L NaOH and L/S ratio of 3 at 20 ℃ for 1 h, while the losses of Pb and Zn were both below 1%.

Removal of arsenic from acid wastewater via sulfide precipitation and its hydrothermal mineralization stabilization

To achieve a safe treatment of arsenic-containing acid wastewater,a new process was proposed,including arsenic removal via sulfide precipitation and hydrothermal mineralization stabilization.Under optimal conditions of sulfide precipitation,99.65%of arsenic from wastewater was precipitated in the form of amorphous As2S3.The As leaching concentration of amorphous As2S3 in TCLP(toxicity characteristic leaching procedure)test was up to 212.97 mg/L,therefore,hydrothermal mineralization was adopted to improve the stability of amorphous As2S3.The results showed that the As leaching concentration of mineralized As2S3 was only 4.82 mg/L.Furthermore,the amorphous As2S3 could be transformed into crystallized As2S3(orpiment)in the presence of mineralizer Na2SO4.Simultaneously,the As leaching concentration of crystallized As2S3 was further reduced to 3.86 mg/L.Hydrothermal mineralization was an effective method for the stabilization of As2S3.Therefore,this process has a greater application in the treatment of arsenic-containing wastewater.

Evaluation of the adsorption potential of titanium dioxide nanoparticles for arsenic removal

The adsorption potential of titanium dioxide （TiO2） nanoparticles for removing arsenic from drinking water was evaluated. Pure and iron-doped TiO2 particles are synthesized via sol-gel method. The synthesized TiO2 nanoparticles were then immobilized on ordinary sand for adsorption studies. Adsorption isotherms were conducted on the synthesized nanoparticles as well as the sand coated with TiO2 nanoparticles under varying conditions of air and light, namely, the air-sunlight （A-SL）, air-light （AL）, air-dark （AD） and nitrogen-dark （ND）. X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis showed that the pure and iron-doped TiO2 nanoparticles were in 100% anatase crystalline phase with crystai sizes of 108 and 65 nm, respectively. Adsorption of arsenic on the three adsorbents was non-linear that could be described by the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption models. Iron doping enhanced the adsorption capacity of TiO2 nanoparticles by arresting the grain growth and making it visible light responsive resulting in a higher affinity for arsenic. Similarly, the arsenic removal by adsorption on the sand coated with TiO2 nanoparticles was the highest among the three types of sand used. In all cases, As（V） was adsorbed more compared with As（Ⅲ）. The solution pH appeared to be the most important factor in controlling the amount of arsenic adsorbed.

Selective removal of As from arsenic-bearing dust rich in Pb and Sb

The selective removal of arsenic from arsenic-bearing dust containing Pb and Sb in alkaline solution was studied. The influence of Na OH concentration, temperature, leaching time, liquid to solid ratio, and the presence of elemental sulfur on the dissolution of As, Sb and Pb in Na OH solution was investigated. The results indicate that the presence of elemental sulfur can effectively prevent leaching of lead and antimony from arsenic. The Sb2O3, As2O3 and Pb5(AsO4)3 OH in the raw material convert to NaSb(OH)6 and PbS in the leaching residue, while arsenic is leached out as As(Ⅲ) or As(Ⅴ) ions in the leaching solution. Arsenic leaching efficiency of 99.84% can be achieved under the optimized conditions, while 97.82% of Sb and 99.97% of Pb remain in the leach residue with the arsenic concentration of less than 0.1%. A novel route is presented for the selective removal of arsenic and potential recycle of lead and antimony from the arsenic-bearing dust leached by Na OH solutions with the addition of elemental sulfur.

Water leaching of arsenic trioxide from metallurgical dust with emphasis on its kinetics

Water leaching of As2O3 from metallurgical dust containing various metals was investigated,serving the purpose of dearsenization and simultaneous metal enrichment especially for indium.Effects of leaching temperature,liquid/solid ratio(LSR)and leaching time were studied.It was found that the initial dissolution was very fast but was then so inhibited by the increasingly dissolved As2O3,which makes it difficult to saturate enough arsenic in the leaching solution or in leaching out all the soluble arsenic with excess dosage of water within acceptable time(120 min).Only about 73%of As2O3 was extracted under the optimal conditions investigated.Two-step leaching showed similar trends and was thus unnecessary for improving As2O3 extraction.These observations could reasonably be accounted for the reversibility of the dissolution reaction.Kinetically,the leaching was described satisfactorily by the semi-empirical Avrami model with the apparent activation energy of 36.08 kJ/mol.The purity of the obtained product As2O3 could reach 98.7%,while the indium could be enriched in the leaching residue without loss.

φ-pH diagram of As-N-Na-H_2O system for arsenic removal during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching of lead anode slime

In order to illustrate the thermodynamic characteristics of arsenic during alkaline pressure oxidation leaching process oflead anode slime(NaNO3as oxidant;NaOH as alkaline reagent),theφ-pH diagrams of As-Na-H2O,N-H2O,As-N-Na-H2Osystems at ionic mass concentration of0.1mol/kg and temperatures of298,373,423and473K were established according tothermodynamic calculation.The results show that the existence forms of arsenic are associated with pH value,which mainly exists inthe forms of H3AsO4,24H AsO-,24HAsO-,H2AsO2-and As2O3in lower pH region,while it mainly exists in the form of3AsO4-when pH>11.14.High alkali concentration and high temperature are advantageous to the arsenic leaching.The alkaline pressureoxidation leaching experiments display that the tendency of arsenic leaching rate confirms the thermodynamic analysis resultsobtained from theφ-pH diagrams of As-N-Na-H2O system,and the highest leaching rate of arsenic reaches95.85%at453K.

Arsenic in Drinking Water and Its Removal

Superfluous arsenic in drinking water can do harm to human health. In this paper, a broad overview of the available technologies for arsenic removal has been presented on the basis of literature survey. The main treatment methods included coagulation-sedimentation, adsorption separation and ion exchange, membrane technique, which have both advantages and disadvantages. It concluded that the selection of treatment process should be site specific and prevailing conditions and no process can serve the purpose under diverse conditions as each technology has its own limitations. In order to gain good results, some methods should be improved.

Arsenic Removal from Pinctada martensii Enzymatic Hydrolysate by Using Zr(Ⅳ)-Loaded Chelating Resin

The present study investigated the removal of inorganic arsenic from Pinctada martensii enzymatic hydrolysate through unmodified resin （D296） and Zr（IV）-loaded chelating resin （Zr-D401）. By loading Zr to macroporous chelating resin D401, the as exchange adsorption active sites are generated. This transforms D401 from a material that does not have the arsenic adsorption capacity into a material that has excellent arsenic exchange adsorption capacity. The static adsorption experiments were conducted to investigate the optimal removal condition for D296 and Zr-D401. The experimental results show that： the optimum condition for D296 is that T= 25℃, pH= 5, resin additive amount= 1 g （50 mL）-1, and contact time = 10 h, the corresponding arsenic removal rate being 65.7%, and protein loss being 2.33%; the optimum condition for Zr-D401 is that T=25 ℃, pH = 8, resin additive amount= 1 g （50 mL）-1, and contact time=10 h, the corresponding arsenic removal rate being 70.3%, and protein loss being 4.65%. These results show that both of the two resins are effective in arsenic removal for preserving useful substance. Our research provides scientific evidence and advances in the processing technology for heavy metal removal in shellfish.

Study on the influence of crown ether on arsenic behavior during coal pyrolysis

The influence of crown ether on behaviors of arsenic at different temperatures and residence time was investigated during the pyrolysis of Tuanbo （TB） coal. The modes of occurrence of arsenic were determined by sequential chemical extraction, density fractionation and demineralization. The results indicated that at the same temperature and residence time, the arsenic removal adding dibenzo-18-crown-6 was higher than that adding 18-crown-6, and were all higher than that of TB coal during pyrolysis. When temperature was 850 ℃ and residence time was 30 min, the arsenic removal of TB coal was 30.63%; at the same condition, the arsenic removal while adding 18-crown-6 was 33.21%, higher than that of TB coal; and the arsenic removal while adding dibenzo-18-crown-6 was 67.41%, significantly higher than that of TB coal. From the results, we can see that adding crown ether can improve the arsenic removal during coal pyrolysis, and especially be conducive to the arsenic which is mainly associated with sulfates ＆ monosulfides and that in stable forms.

Iron Activation of Natural Aluminosilicates to Remove Arsenic from Groundwater

Low-cost adsorbents constituted by Fe-modified-aluminosilicates （laminar and zeolite type minerals） were developed and characterized to be used in the arsenic removal from groundwater. Iron activation was carried out ＂in situ＂ by the synthesis and deposition of mesoporous ferrihydrite. Natural iron-rich aluminosilicate was used as reference. All samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, BET N2-adsorption, SEM-EDS microscopy and ICP chemical analysis. Experimental results of arsenic sorption showed that iron-poor raw materials were not active, unlike iron activated samples. The iron loading in all activated samples was below 5% （expressed as Fe203）, whereas the removal capacity of these samples reaches between 200-700 gg of As by g of adsorbent, after reusing between 17 cycles and 70 cycles up to adsorbent saturation. Differences can be associated to mineral structure and to the surface charge modification by iron deposition, affecting the attraction of the As-oxoanion. On the basis of low-cost raw materials, the easy chemical process for activation shows that these materials are potentially attractive for As（V） removal. Likewise, the activation of clay minerals, with natural high content of iron, seems to be a good strategy to enhance the arsenic adsorption ability and consequently the useful life of the adsorbent.

Pyrometallurgical Removal of Arsenic from Electrostatic Precipitators Dusts of Copper Smelting

This work describes the experimental results of pyrometallurgical removing of arsenic from the dust collected in the electrostatic copper precipitators within the gas cleaning system of a Copper Flash Smelting Furnace. The generation of dust in the copper smelting worldwide ranges from 2 - 15 wt% per ton of a copper concentrate. In Chile, copper smelters produce approximately 110 kt/y of dust with a concentration of arsenic between 1 and 15 wt%. The dust is a complex of metals oxides and sulfurs with copper concentrations greater than 10 wt% and relatively high silver concentrations. Since its high arsenic concentration, it is difficult to recover valuable metals through hydrometallurgical processes or by direct recirculation of the dust in a smelting furnace. Thus, the development of pyrometallurgical processes aimed at reducing the concentration of arsenic in the dust (<0.5 wt%) is the main objective of this study, giving particular attention to the production of a suitable material to be recirculated in operations of copper smelting. The work provides a detailed characterization of the dust including the Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN), Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (SEM/EDS), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), the elemental chemical analysis using Atomic Adsorption (AAS), and X-Ray Fluorescence (X-RF). By considering that arsenic volatilization requires a process of sulfidation-decomposition-oxidation, this work seeks to explore the roasting of mixtures of copper concentrate/dust, sulfur/dust, and pyrrhotite/dust. By the elemental chemical analysis of the mixture after and before the roasting process, the degree of arsenic volatilization was determined. The results indicated the effects of parameters such as roasting temperature, gas flow, gas composition, and the ratio of mixtures (concentrate/dust, sulfur/dust, or pyrrhotite/dust) on the volatilization of arsenic. According to the findings, the concentration of arsenic in the roasted Flash Smelting dust can be reduced to a relatively low level (<0.5 wt%), which allows its recirculation into an smelting process.

The removal of arsenic from (ground)-water by adsorbent loaded in polymeric microspheres

Arsenic is a natural tasteless and odourless element,existing in the earth's crust at average levels of between two and five thousands micrograms per liter (parts per million) . Arsenic is highly toxic to humans, who are exposed to it primarily from air,food and water. The occurrence of arsenic in groundwater is due to geological composition of soil. High concentrations of arsenic in water are the result of dissolution or desorption of ferric oxides and the oxidation of mineral arsenopyrites. Arsenic in drinking water has an important impact on the human health,especially in the less developed countries. Different methods exist to remove arsenic from aquatic media,and one of them is by adsorption. In this work,the adsorption of both As(III) and As(V) by means of novel microspheres has been investigated. In particular,TiO2 has been embedded into polymeric microspheres PES (PolyEtherSulphone) and PEEK-WC (PolyEtherEther-Ketone) . The main advantages of this encapsulation adsorption material are: no loss of adsorbents into the water stream,easy to be used and scaled-up.

Solar Oxidation and Removal of Arsenic from Groundwater Utilizing a Semicircular Section Tubular Photoreactor

A semicircular section tubular photoreactor has been constructed, characterized and applied to the treatment of groundwater contaminated with As（V） by means of the SORAS （solar oxidation and removal of arsenic） technique, using ferrous and citrate salts. The solar concentrator was built with recyclable waste materials： glass tubes from fluorescent lamps and 6-inch diameter PVC pipes cut in half and covered by aluminum foil. The reactor concentrates solar radiation up to 2.8 times its natural intensity. Batch irradiation experiments followed by controlled agitation （shear rate = 30-33 s^-1; 20 min agitation period） showed that the photoreactor accelerates the formation of settleable floccules （Dp 〉 0.5mm）, compared with a fluorescent lamp glass tube alone and a 2 L PET （polyethylene terephthalate） bottle. Irradiation times necessary for floccule formation in the photoreactor, the fluorescent lamp tube and the PET bottle were 15 min, 25 min and 60 min, respectively. Continuous flow experiments using a photoreactor with a photo-collection area of 0.9 m^2 and a hydraulic retention time （equal to the irradiation time） of 15 rain showed that immediate formation of floccules of good settleability occurs when the solution is subjected to moderate agitation （33 s^-1）. An efficiency of 98.36% for As（V） removal was obtained with a final concentration of 16.5 ktg/L in decanted waters. In accordance to these results, the photoreactor is able to treat approximately 130 L/m^2 within a 5-h period with UVA irradiation intensities of 50-70 W/mE.

Characterization and Pyrometallurgical Removal of Arsenic from Copper Concentrate Roasting Dust

This paper describes the experimental results of removing arsenic from the dust collected in electrostatic precipitators of a fluidized bed roasting furnace (RP dust). The fluidized bed roasting process generates 600 kilotons of copper concentrate per year with 3 - 6 wt% of concentration of arsenic, producing a roasted product with a low content of arsenic below 0.3 wt%. The process generates 27 kilotons of RP dust per year with a concentration of arsenic of the order of 5 wt% and copper concentration of around 20 wt%. Subsequently, the dust collected in the electrostatic precipitators is treated by hydrometallurgical methods allowing the recovery of copper, and the disposition of arsenic as scorodite. This work proposes to use a pyrometallurgy process to the volatilization of arsenic from RP dust. The obtained material can be recirculated in copper smelting furnaces allowing the recovery of valuable metals. The set of experiments carried out in the roasting of the mixture of copper concentrate/RP dust and sulfur/RP dust used different ratios of mixtures, temperatures and roasting times. By different techniques, the characterization of the RP dust determined its size distribution, morphology, and chemical and mineralogical composition. RP dust is a composite material of small particles (<5 μm) in 50 μm agglomerates, mostly amorphous, with a complex chemical composition of sulfoxides. The results of the roasting experiments indicated that for a 75/25 weight ratio of the mixture of the copper concentrate/PR dust under 700℃, 15 minutes of roasting time with injection of air, the volatilization of arsenic reached 96% by weight. The arsenic concentration after the roasting process is less than 0.3% by weight. For a 5/95 mixture of sulfur/RP dust, at 650℃, the volatilization of arsenic reached a promissory result of 67%. Even that this study was carried out for a particular operation, the results have the potential to be extended to dust produced in the roasting of concentrates of nickel, lead-zinc, and gold.

Correlation between Iron Reducibility in Natural and Iron-Modified Clays and Its Adsorptive Capability for Arsenic Removal

The study reports aspects that allowed to correlate structural and redox properties of iron species deposited on clay minerals with the capacity of geomaterials for arsenic removal. Natural ferruginous clays as well as an iron-poor clay chemically modified with Fe(III) salt (ferrihydrite species) were investigated as adsorbents of the arsenate(V) in water. The study, carried out from minerals from abundant Argentinean deposits, was conducted with the aid of different techniques such as X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDS), Raman Spectroscopy, ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma) chemical analysis and Temperature Programmed Reduction (TPR). This last technique allowed to detect availability of iron species in oxidic environment with different structural complexity and to determine active sites, accessible for arsenate(V) adsorption. The effect was observed through temperature dependence of the first Fe(III) reduction step (below 570&deg;C) of iron-oxide species. The sequence of reducibility: ferrihydrite > hydrous oxide (goethite) > anhydrous oxide (hematite) > structural iron in clay was in agreement with the availability of iron active sites for the reducing process as well as for the arsenate adsorption. The important role of very high iron content in original samples was also observed. The chemical activation of iron-poor clay by a simple and feasible modification with Fe(III) solutions promoted the deposition of the ferrihydrite active phase with an increase of 2.81% (expressed as Fe2O3) respect to the original content of 1.07%, constituting an accessible and eco-friendly technological alternative to solve the environmental problem of water containing arsenic.

Ultrasonic-enhanced selective sulfide precipitation of copper ions from copper smelting dust using monoclinic pyrrhotite

The sulfide passivation film produced on the surface seriously prevents further reaction in the process of using monoclinic pyrrhotite(MPr)to treat heavy metal ions in wastewater.Ultrasonic technology was introduced to assist MPr to recover the copper ions.XPS result proves that CuS products exist on the surface of MPr.XRD and SEM results show that the CuS on the particles’surface is stripped under ultrasonic condition.The kinetics results indicate that the reaction under both conventional and ultrasonic conditions conform to the Avrami model.The reaction process changes from diffusion control to chemical reaction control under the ultrasonic condition as the solid layer is stripped off.The presence of ultrasonic significantly reduces the acidity and temperature required for the reaction and enhances the utilization efficiency of MPr;by controlling the amount of MPr,the removal rates of copper and arsenic in copper smelting dust leachate exceed 99%and 95%,respectively.

Electro-enhanced adsorption of As(V)by activated carbon in three-dimensional electrode reactor

This study focused on As(V)removal by electrosorption in a self-made three-dimensional electrode reactor,in which granular activated carbon(GAC)was used as the particle electrode.Under the optimal conditions,the removal efficiency of As(V)was 84%,and its residual concentration in solution was 0.08 mg/L.From kinetic investigation,the rate determining steps of the entire process may involve more than two processes:membrane diffusion,material diffusion and physical/chemical adsorption processes.During the desorption process,As(V)can be desorbed from GAC,and the GAC was able to electro-adsorb As(V)again after desorption,which means that the electrode has good cycling performance.

Application and mechanism of Fenton-like iron-based functional materials for arsenite removal

Between the two major arsenic-containing salts in natural water, arsenite(As(Ⅲ)) is far more harmful to human and the environment than arsenate(As(V)) due to its high toxicity and transportability. Therefore, preoxidation of As(Ⅲ) to As(V) is considered to be an effective means to reduce the toxicity of arsenic and to promote the removal efficiency of arsenic. Due to their high catalytic activity and arsenic affinity, iron-based functional materials can quickly oxidize As(Ⅲ) to As(V) in heterogeneous Fenton-like systems, and then remove As(V) from water through adsorption and surface coprecipitation. In this review, the effects of different iron-based functional materials such as zero-valent iron and iron(hydroxy) oxides on arsenic removal are compared, and the catalytic oxidation mechanism of As(Ⅲ) in heterogeneous Fenton process is further clarified. Finally, the main challenges and opportunities faced by iron-based As(Ⅲ) oxidation functional materials are prospected.

Novel Fe/glass composite adsorbent for As(V) removal

An effective adsorbent for arsenic removal was synthesized by hydrothermal treatment of waste glass powder （GP）, followed by loading Fe（Ⅲ） oxyhydroxide onto the surface of waste glass powder. The =Si-O-H group was formed on the surface of GP and the specific surface area of GP powder was slightly increased after hydrothermal treatment. FeOOH was loaded onto the surface of hydrothermally treated waste glass powder （HGP） by the hydrolysis of FeC13. The formation conditions of FeOOH were also investigated. The ability of this new adsorbent for arsenic （As（V）） removal was evaluated. The results indicated that the highest removal efficiency was about 97% for 1 mg/L As（V） solution at pH 6 and keeping time 2 h.