Novel composites of activated carbon and layered double oxide for the removal of sulfate from synthetic and brackish groundwater

Sulfate (SO42−) is a major water and environmental concern that causes severe diarrhea, death of invertebrates and plant species, and clogging of industrial pipes. In the current work, treatment of SO42− from synthetic and real groundwater having 3901 mg(SO42−)/L was investigated for the first time...

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Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 2023-10, Vol.339, p.139740-139740, Article 139740
Main Authors: Abushawish, Alaa, Chatla, Anjaneyulu, Almanassra, Ismail W., Ihsanullah, I., Shanableh, Abdallah, Laoui, Tahar, Atieh, Muataz Ali
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activated carbon
Adsorption kinetics
Characterization
Groundwater
Layered double oxide
Sulfate removal
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Summary:Sulfate (SO42−) is a major water and environmental concern that causes severe diarrhea, death of invertebrates and plant species, and clogging of industrial pipes. In the current work, treatment of SO42− from synthetic and real groundwater having 3901 mg(SO42−)/L was investigated for the first time using Zn–Al and Mg–Al layered double oxides doped granular activated carbon (GAC/Mg–Al LDO and GAC/Zn–Al LDO). The co-precipitation method was followed to synthesize the GAC/LDO composites using an Mg or Zn to Al molar ratio of 3:1. The GAC/Mg–Al LDO possessed a higher specific surface area (323.9 m2/g) compared to GAC/Zn–Al LDO (195.1 m2/g). The GAC/Mg–Al LDO demonstrated more than 99% removal of SO42− from synthetic water, while it was 50.9% for GAC/Zn–Al LDO and less than 1% for raw GAC at an initial concentration of 50 mg/L. The GAC/Mg–Al LDO was selected for further batch experiments and modeling investigation. The equilibrium data followed the Redlich-Peterson and Langmuir models with determination coefficients of 0.943 and 0.935, respectively. The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity was 143.5 mg/g. In the real groundwater adsorption study, the screening experiment revealed high selectivity towards SO42− with 62% removal efficiency. The optimum dosage was found to be 50 g/L with an uptake capacity of 61.5 mg/g. The kinetic data of SO42− removal from synthetic and brackish water were in excellent agreement with the pseudo-second order model, and the equilibrium was attained in 5 h. Accordingly, it can be concluded that the GAC/Mg–Al LDO is an efficient material for treating SO42− from real groundwater and can be utilized as a pretreatment unit for high sulfate water resources. [Display omitted] •The potential of GAC Mg–Al and Zn–Al LDOs was investigated for SO42− removal from water.•GAC/Mg–Al LDO showed higher removal (99%) than the GAC/Zn–Al LDO (50.9%) for SO42.•The maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of GAC/Mg–Al LDO was 143.5 mg/g.•GAC/Mg–Al LDO showed 62% removal of SO42− from groundwater.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139740