Arsenic removal from aqueous solution by chitosan loaded with Al/Ti elements

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn the process of removing arsenic in an arsenic-containing aqueous solution, a large amount of harmful arsenic-containing waste is usually discharged. In this paper, a recyclable and environmentally friendly method of removing arsenic with Al/Ti-supported chitosan (ATC) was proposed. The results show that ATC has the best adsorption effect on arsenic at pH 8 at room temperature. In addition, the ratio of Al and Ti to chitosan (CB) affects the adsorption effect of ATC on arsenic. When Al: Ti: CB is 1:1:10, the removal rate of arsenic is as high as 99%. ATC can rapidly adsorb arsenic within 30 min. The adsorption kinetics shows that the adsorption of ATC on arsenic follows the joint action of physical adsorption and chemical precipitation. The adsorption isotherm shows that the adsorption process is multilayer adsorption. Finally, ATC has good recycling ability and is an efficient arsenic-removing agent in the treatment of arsenic-containing aqueous solutions. It shows great potential in the remediation of heavy metal-containing aqueous solutions.KEYWORDS: Arsenicaqueous solutionchitosanadsorptiondynamics Highlights The formation of Al/Ti loaded-chitosan is simple and economical.Effective removal of arsenic from high-arsenic aqueous solution using Al/Ti loaded-chitosan.Al/Ti loaded-chitosan can be regenerated and continuously useDisclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authorStatement of noveltyIn the process of removing arsenic from arsenic-bearing aqueous solution, a large amount of hazardous arsenic-bearing waste is usually discharged. We propose a recyclable and environmentally friendly method for the efficient removal of arsenic using Al/Ti loaded-chitosan (ATC). The results show 99% of arsenic could be removed from arsenic-bearing aqueous solution and reduce the arsenic concentration from 200 mg/L to 10 μg/L using ATC at room temperature. The highest arsenic removal capacity of ATC reaches 45 mg/g due to the superior arsenic adsorption. ATC acts as a highly effective arsenic remover for the disposal of arsenic-bearing aqueous solution. It shows great potential for the remediation of aqueous solution containing heavy metals.Supplementary materialSupplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01496395.2023.2250550Additional informationFundingThis project is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 52160011), the Yunnan Province Ten Thousand Talents Plan Young Talents Training Fund (No. KKRD201952029), the University-Enterprise Cooperation Project of Kunming University of Science and Technology (No. KKZ4201552002).