Improvement of As(III) removal with diatomite overlay nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI-D): adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetic studies

Nanoscale zero-valent iron coated on diatomite (nZVI-D) was successfully synthesized as a composite material. It is the combination of nZVI and diatomite which has been proved to be a promising material in arsenite or As(III) removal. The result showed that 25.5% of As(III) was removed using diatomite only but more than 95% of As(III) was removed using nZVI-D, at the same contact time of 60 min and pH 6. The experimental isotherm data for As(III) adsorption at different initial concentrations were analyzed using the Langmuir, Freundlich, and Dubinin–Radushkevich equations. Among these three, the equilibrium data fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm. The kinetic adsorption was also studied using the pseudo-first, second-order, and intraparticle diffusion equations. The data were well explained by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. From the results of kinetic adsorption and the adsorption isotherm, it can be concluded that arsenite adsorption was controlled by the mass transfer and adsorption process.