Obtaining of Maghemite Containing Red Mud for Effective As(V) Adsorption

This paper describes the studies of the use of red muds as adsorbents for cleaning solutions from As(V). The red mud is a waste that contains a large amount of iron oxides and hydroxides, which are excellent adsorbents of arsenic, especially those possessing magnetic properties and large specific surface area. The purpose of the experiment was to study the possibility of obtaining an effective adsorbent by direct extraction of alumina from bauxite using the caustic alkali fusion method and optimization of the process. The main iron-containing phase of the red muds obtained by fusing bauxite with caustic alkali was maghemite, which has a large specific surface area. Arsenic adsorption experiments were carried out using red muds obtained through bauxite alkali fusing at different temperatures and time of fusion, as well as the mass ratio of caustic alkali to bauxite. The red muds obtained by fusing bauxite with caustic alkali at 400∘ C and NaOH to bauxite mass ration 1.5 within 70 minutes have the highest effectiveness removing arsenic. Their As(V) uptake capacity was over than 37 mg/g. Keywords: red mud, maghemite, nanoparticles, As(V) adsorption, optimization