Separate As(V) from solution by mesoporous Y-Al binary oxide: batch experiments

Contaminant arsenic(V) has been regarded as one of the top-priority pollutants to remove from water. In this contribution, different mesoporous Y-Al binary oxides were prepared by the wet impregnation method via varying the molar ratio of Y/Al in the range of 0.029 to 0.116. The manufactured materials were employed as adsorbent to separate arsenic(V) from water. The adsorbent was characterized by N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, point of zero charge (PZC) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). Furthermore, the effect of experimental parameters on adsorption performance was evaluated by batch experiments, including the molar ratio of Y/Al, adsorbent dosages and contact time, initial concentration, initial pH and temperature. The results indicated that the adsorbent presented an optimal adsorption performance for As(V) uptake when the molar ratio of Y/Al was 0.058. The obtained experimental data were best fitted by Langmuir isotherm and the maximum adsorption capacity was 60.93 mg/g at pH 6.6 ± 0.1. Additionally, according to the results of adsorption kinetics, it was pronounced that adsorption process was complied with pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption thermodynamic suggested that the adsorption of As(V) is endothermic and spontaneous natural. Moreover, based on the results of FT-IR, PZC and initial pH, it is demonstrated that ion-exchange and electrostatic interaction were the dominating adsorption mechanism.