Chitosan hydrogel synthesis to remove arsenic and fluoride ions from groundwater

Groundwater samples from eight deep drinking water wells that cover three aquifers in Chihuahua City, northern Mexico, were fully characterized. Water is naturally contaminated with arsenic, fluoride, and uranium, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local standards. The results from the Geochemist’s Workbench (GWB) program revealed that the minerals in equilibrium with the groundwater were calcite and dolomite, while others, such as fluoride, schoepite, rutherfordite and K(UO 2 )(AsO 4 ), were also dissolved. The hydrogeochemical characterization of water samples indicates that they were sodium bicarbonate-type water samples at neutral to slightly alkaline pH (7.6–8.3). A batch equilibrium sorption procedure was implemented using natural groundwater, a synthesized chitosan network ( net -CS) and a chitosan binary network grafted with N-vinylcaprolactam/N-N-dimethylacrylamide ( net -CS)-g-NVCL/DMAAm hydrogels. Isotherms and kinetics sorption tests were evaluated. The adsorption capacity of net -CS hydrogels for As ions was 0.0022 mg/g and F ions 0.15 mg/g after 50 h. Scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to investigate the hydrogel surface before and after the sorption process, and TGA was used to evaluate the stability of the adsorbents. Freundlich adsorption isotherm constants for As and F ions indicate heterogeneous sorption and the mechanism of retention by physisorption. • Arsenic, fluoride and uranium in Mexican drinking groundwater, above Maximum Concentration Limits, was detected. • Na-HCO 3 water type at neutral to slightly alkaline pH. • Chitosan hydrogels simultaneously removed arsenic and fluoride from groundwater. • Sorption fitted to Freundlich model, thus adsorption energy is heterogeneous.