Iron oxide adsorption

Last updated

Iron oxide adsorption is a water treatment process that is used to remove arsenic from drinking water. Arsenic is a common natural contaminant of well water and is highly carcinogenic. Iron oxide adsorption treatment for arsenic in groundwater is a commonly practiced removal process which involves the chemical treatment of arsenic species such that they adsorb onto iron oxides and create larger particles that may be filtered out of the water stream.

The addition of ferric chloride, FeCl3, to well water immediately after the well at the influent to the treatment plant creates ferric hydroxide, Fe(OH)3, and hydrochloric acid, HCl.

3H2O + FeCl3 → Fe(OH)3 + 3HCl

Fe(OH)3 in water is a strong adsorbent of arsenate, As(V), provided that the pH is low. HCl lowers pH, assuring arsenic adsorption, and the disassociated chlorine oxidizes iron in solution from Fe+2 to Fe+3, which then may bond with hydroxide ions, OH, thus creating more adsorbent.

This adjustment also lowers the pH of the well water, decreasing alkalinity and allowing more cationic species such Fe(+) or As(+) as to exist freely within the flow. Low pH also decreases the solubility of some iron and arsenic species as well as increasing the adsorptive reactivity of arsenate, As(V).

Additional oxidation of Fe+2 to Fe+3, also referred to as iron(II) and iron(III), is induced by the addition of sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl, at the well head. NaOCl is usually added for disinfection although it may be used in this case towards the objectives of a distribution system free chlorine residual of 1 mg/L and the oxidation of aqueous As(III) to As(V), and aqueous iron Fe+2 to Fe+3, which will bond with hydroxide for further adsorption.

The filter media usually consists of anthracite, iron-manganese oxidizing sand, and garnet sand over support gravel. [1]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsenic</span> Chemical element, symbol As and atomic number 33

Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but only the grey form, which has a metallic appearance, is important to industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chlorine</span> Chemical element, symbol Cl and atomic number 17

Chlorine is a chemical element with the symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between them. Chlorine is a yellow-green gas at room temperature. It is an extremely reactive element and a strong oxidising agent: among the elements, it has the highest electron affinity and the third-highest electronegativity on the revised Pauling scale, behind only oxygen and fluorine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron(III)</span> The element iron in its +3 oxidation state

In chemistry, iron(III) refers to the element iron in its +3 oxidation state. In ionic compounds (salts), such an atom may occur as a separate cation (positive ion) denoted by Fe3+.

In chemistry, an amphoteric compound is a molecule or ion that can react both as an acid and as a base. What exactly this can mean depends on which definitions of acids and bases are being used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium hypochlorite</span> Chemical compound (known in solution as bleach)

Sodium hypochlorite, commonly known in a dilute solution as (chlorine) bleach, is an inorganic chemical compound with the formula NaOCl, consisting of a sodium cation and a hypochlorite anion. It may also be viewed as the sodium salt of hypochlorous acid. The anhydrous compound is unstable and may decompose explosively. It can be crystallized as a pentahydrate NaOCl·5H
2
O
, a pale greenish-yellow solid which is not explosive and is stable if kept refrigerated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Activated carbon</span> Form of carbon processed to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area

Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area available for adsorption or chemical reactions. Activation is analogous to making popcorn from dried corn kernels: popcorn is light, fluffy, and its kernels have a high surface-area-to-volume ratio. Activated is sometimes replaced by active.

Iron(III) chloride describes the inorganic compounds with the formula FeCl3(H2O)x. Also called ferric chloride, these compounds are some of the most important and commonplace compounds of iron. They are available both in anhydrous and in hydrated forms which are both hygroscopic. They feature iron in its +3 oxidation state. The anhydrous derivative is a Lewis acid, while all forms are mild oxidizing agent. It is used as a water cleaner and as an etchant for metals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypochlorite</span> Ion

In chemistry, hypochlorite, or chloroxide is an anion with the chemical formula ClO. It combines with a number of cations to form hypochlorite salts. Common examples include sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite. The Cl-O distance in ClO is 1.69 Å.

Neodymium(III) chloride or neodymium trichloride is a chemical compound of neodymium and chlorine with the formula NdCl3. This anhydrous compound is a mauve-colored solid that rapidly absorbs water on exposure to air to form a purple-colored hexahydrate, NdCl3·6H2O. Neodymium(III) chloride is produced from minerals monazite and bastnäsite using a complex multistage extraction process. The chloride has several important applications as an intermediate chemical for production of neodymium metal and neodymium-based lasers and optical fibers. Other applications include a catalyst in organic synthesis and in decomposition of waste water contamination, corrosion protection of aluminium and its alloys, and fluorescent labeling of organic molecules (DNA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potassium ferrate</span> Chemical compound

Potassium ferrate is the chemical compound with the formula K2FeO4. This purple salt is paramagnetic, and is a rare example of an iron(VI) compound. In most of its compounds, iron has the oxidation state +2 or +3 (Fe2+ or Fe3+). Reflecting its high oxidation state, FeO2−4 is a powerful oxidizing agent.

In chemistry, an arsenite is a chemical compound containing an arsenic oxyanion where arsenic has oxidation state +3. Note that in fields that commonly deal with groundwater chemistry, arsenite is used generically to identify soluble AsIII anions. IUPAC have recommended that arsenite compounds are to be named as arsenate(III), for example ortho-arsenite is called trioxidoarsenate(III). Ortho-arsenite contrasts to the corresponding anions of the lighter members of group 15, phosphite which has the structure HPO2−3 and nitrite, NO−2 which is bent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferrate(VI)</span> Ion

Ferrate(VI) is the inorganic anion with the chemical formula [FeO4]2−. It is photosensitive, contributes a pale violet colour to compounds and solutions containing it and is one of the strongest water-stable oxidizing species known. Although it is classified as a weak base, concentrated solutions containing ferrate(VI) are corrosive and attack the skin and are only stable at high pH. It is similar to the somewhat more stable permanganate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide</span> Hydrous ferric oxide (HFO)

Iron(III) oxide-hydroxide or ferric oxyhydroxide is the chemical compound of iron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula FeO(OH).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsenic trichloride</span> Chemical compound

Arsenic trichloride is an inorganic compound with the formula AsCl3, also known as arsenous chloride or butter of arsenic. This poisonous oil is colourless, although impure samples may appear yellow. It is an intermediate in the manufacture of organoarsenic compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arsenic contamination of groundwater</span> Form of water pollution

Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a form of groundwater pollution which is often due to naturally occurring high concentrations of arsenic in deeper levels of groundwater. It is a high-profile problem due to the use of deep tube wells for water supply in the Ganges Delta, causing serious arsenic poisoning to large numbers of people. A 2007 study found that over 137 million people in more than 70 countries are probably affected by arsenic poisoning of drinking water. The problem became a serious health concern after mass poisoning of water in Bangladesh. Arsenic contamination of ground water is found in many countries throughout the world, including the US.

Iron shows the characteristic chemical properties of the transition metals, namely the ability to form variable oxidation states differing by steps of one and a very large coordination and organometallic chemistry: indeed, it was the discovery of an iron compound, ferrocene, that revolutionalized the latter field in the 1950s. Iron is sometimes considered as a prototype for the entire block of transition metals, due to its abundance and the immense role it has played in the technological progress of humanity. Its 26 electrons are arranged in the configuration [Ar]3d64s2, of which the 3d and 4s electrons are relatively close in energy, and thus it can lose a variable number of electrons and there is no clear point where further ionization becomes unprofitable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bismuth chloride</span> Chemical compound

Bismuth chloride (or butter of bismuth) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula BiCl3. It is a covalent compound and is the common source of the Bi3+ ion. In the gas phase and in the crystal, the species adopts a pyramidal structure, in accord with VSEPR theory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barium ferrate</span> Chemical compound

Barium ferrate is the chemical compound of formula BaFeO4. This is a rare compound containing iron in the +6 oxidation state. The ferrate(VI) ion has two unpaired electrons, making it paramagnetic. It is isostructural with BaSO4, and contains the tetrahedral [FeO4]2− anion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red mud</span> Waste product from the production of alumina

Red mud, now more frequently termed bauxite residue, is an industrial waste generated during the processing of bauxite into alumina using the Bayer process. It is composed of various oxide compounds, including the iron oxides which give its red colour. Over 95% of the alumina produced globally is through the Bayer process; for every tonne of alumina produced, approximately 1 to 1.5 tonnes of red mud are also produced. Annual production of alumina in 2020 was over 133 million tonnes resulting in the generation of over 175 million tonnes of red mud.

References

  1. Faust, Aly (1998), Chemistry of Water Treatment, CRC Press