Mechanistic Study of Arsenate Adsorption onto Different Amorphous Grades of Titanium (Hydr)Oxides Impregnated into a Point-of-Use Activated Carbon Block.

Millions of households still rely on drinking water from private wells or municipal systems with arsenic levels approaching or exceeding regulatory limits. Arsenic is a potent carcinogen, and there is no safe level of it in drinking water. Point-of-use (POU) treatment systems are a promising option to mitigate arsenic exposure. However, the most commonly used POU technology, an activated carbon block filter, is ineffective at removing arsenic. Our study aimed to explore the potential of impregnating carbon blocks with amorphous titanium (hydr)oxide (THO) to improve arsenic removal without introducing titanium (Ti) into the treated water. Four synthesis methods achieved 8-16 wt.% Ti loading within the carbon block with 58-97% amorphous THO content. The THO-modified carbon block could adsorb both oxidation states of arsenic (arsenate and arsenite) in batch or column tests. Modified carbon block with higher Ti and amorphous content always led to better arsenate removal, achieving arsenic loadings up to 31 mg As/mg Ti after 70,000 bed volumes in continuous flow tests. Impregnating carbon block with amorphous THO consistently outperformed impregnation using crystalline TiO2. The best-performing system (TTIP-EtOH carbon block) was an amorphous THO derived using titanium isopropoxide, ethanol, and acetic acid via sol-gel technique, aged at 80° for 18 hours and dried overnight at 60°. Comparable pore size distribution and surface area of the impregnated carbon blocks suggested that chemical properties play a more crucial role than physical and textural properties in removing arsenate via amorphous Ti-impregnated carbon block. Freundlich isotherms indicated energetically favorable adsorption for amorphous chemically synthesized adsorbents. The mass transport coefficients for the amorphous TTIP-EtOH carbon block were fitted using a pore surface diffusion model, resulting in Dsurface = 3.1×10-12 cm2/s and Dpore = 3.2×10-6 cm2/s. Impregnating the carbon block with THO enabled effective arsenic removal from water without adversely affecting the pressure drop across the unit or the carbon block's ability to remove polar organic chemical pollutants efficiently.

Nano-enabling of strong-base ion-exchange media via a room-temperature aluminum (hydr)oxide synthesis method to simultaneously remove nitrate and fluoride.

This study demonstrated a new room-temperature method for synthesizing aluminum (hydr)oxide material inside the pores of strong-base ion-exchange resin to fabricate a novel class of hybrid media capable of simultaneously removing nitrate and fluoride as model groundwater contaminants. The aluminum (hydr)oxide hybrid media was fabricated by reducing aluminum ion precursors with borohydride within ion-exchange resin at room temperature, followed by exposure to environmental oxygen. The hybrid media was characterized, and its performance to simultaneously remove nitrate and fluoride was determined in simple and complex water matrices using short-bed column tests operated under conditions realistic for point-of-use systems. Results revealed that, although not optimized, aluminum (hydr)oxide hybrid media was able to simultaneously remove nitrate and fluoride, which was not possible with neither unmodified strong-base ion-exchange resin nor conventional granular activated alumina alone. Future modifications and optimizations of this relatively simple and inexpensive fabrication process have the potential to yield an entire class of hybrid media suitable for point-of-use/point-of-entry water treatment systems.

The effect of carbon type on arsenic and trichloroethylene removal capabilities of iron (hydr)oxide nanoparticle-impregnated granulated activated carbons.

This study investigates the impact of the type of virgin granular activated carbon (GAC) media used to synthesize iron (hydr)oxide nanoparticle-impregnated granular activated carbon (Fe-GAC) on its properties and its ability to remove arsenate and organic trichloroethylene (TCE) from water. Two Fe-GAC media were synthesized via a permanganate/ferrous ion synthesis method using bituminous and lignite-based virgin GAC. Data obtained from an array of characterization techniques (pore size distribution, surface charge, etc.) in correlation with batch equilibrium tests, and continuous flow modeling suggested that GAC type and pore size distribution control the iron (nanoparticle) contents, Fe-GAC synthesis mechanisms, and contaminant removal performances. Pore surface diffusion model calculations predicted that lignite Fe-GAC could remove ∼6.3 L g(-1) dry media and ∼4 L g(-1) dry media of water contaminated with 30 µg L(-1) TCE and arsenic, respectively. In contrast, the bituminous Fe-GAC could remove only ∼0.2 L/g dry media for TCE and ∼2.8 L/g dry media for As of the same contaminated water. The results show that arsenic removal capability is increased while TCE removal is decreased as a result of Fe nanoparticle impregnation. This tradeoff is related to several factors, of which changes in surface properties and pore size distributions appeared to be the most dominant.

Removal of arsenate and 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) by iron (hydr)oxide modified activated carbon fibers.

Activated carbon fibers (ACF) were modified with iron (hydr)oxide and studied to determine their suitability to remove arsenate and 17alpha -ethinyl estradiol (EE2) from water. Two synthesis methods, one involving aqueous KMnO(4) pretreatment followed by Fe(II) treatment, and the other involving reaction with Fe(III) in an organic solvent followed by NaOH treatment, were used to produce modified ACF media containing 5.9% and 8.4% iron by dry weight, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Electron dispersion X-ray (EDX) techniques indicated slightly higher iron content near the outer edges of the fibers. Pseudo-equilibrium batch test experimental data at pH = 7.0 +/- 0.1 in 5 mM NaHCO(3) buffered ultrapure water containing approximately 100 micro g(As)/L and approximately 500 micro gEE2/L were fitted with the Freundlich isotherm model (q = K x C(E)(1/n)). The adsorption capacity parameters (K) were approximately 2586 (micro gAs/gFe)(L/micro gAs)(1/n) and approximately 425 (micro gAs/gFe)(L/micro gAs)(1/n)), respectively, for the KMnO(4)/Fe(II) and Fe(III)/NaOH treated media. The KMnO(4)/Fe(II) media exhibited a lower adsorption capacity at 99% EE2 removal than did the Fe(III)/NaOH treated media (1.3 mgEE2/g -dry -media vs. 1.8 mgEE2/g -dry -media). The arsenate adsorption intensity parameters (1/n) for both modified ACF media were < 0.29, implying very favorable adsorption, which suggests that this type of media may be suitable for single point -of -use applications in which arsenic and organic co-contaminants require simultaneous removal and the depth of the packed bed is the key factor.