Arsenic removal from aqueous solution via ferrihydrite crystallization control

Removal of arsenate anion from aqueous solution by coprecipitation with ferrihydrite has been studied under conditions in which the Fe/As ratio is maintained at a constant level, while the degree of supersaturation with respect to the iron oxide precipitate is varied. An Fe/As ratio of 12 was chosen, and supersaturation was controlled by varying the iron concentration or the pH. The relationship between supersaturation and arsenic removal was found to follow an exponential curve, with greater arsenic removal occurring at higher supersaturation ratios for each of the pH values tested. Higher supersaturation ratios were required to achieve a given level of arsenic removal at pH 7 than would be required to achieve the same level of removal at pH 3.5. The results provide important guidelines for selection of appropriate concentrations of iron(III) required for arsenic removal under various circumstances. Powder XRD analysis of the arsenate-ferrihydrite precipitates showed an increasing degree of structural order with decreasing levels of supersaturation. TEM images of the precipitates revealed that aggregates with a morphology similar to that of schwertmannite are formed in some samples at low supersaturation levels. The results described in this paper indicate that the overall efficiency of arsenic removal involves a combination of both supersaturation and pH effects, with pH controlling the affinity of arsenate for the ferrihydrite surface, and supersaturation controlling the surface area and physical properties of the ferrihydrite product.