Removal of dye from iron-coated activated carbon and aqueous solutions

Metals with toxic quality create danger for several kind of species. These metals that present danger for the species have to be purified from the waters. Arsenic one of the dangerous metals is known as the most toxic material in drinking waters. Arsenic being at high rates in underground and surface waters is dangerous because its transfer between water, air and soil is easy. Drinking waters containing arsenic is accepted as carcinogenic for the human by World Health Organization (WHO) and International Agency for Research on Cancer. Because of the negative effects of the arsenic on living creatures, allowed value limits in drinking waters were decreased to 10 μg/L in 1993. Developing more efficient and economic methods for purification of arsenic containing waste waters as in all of the purification methods is an important issue. Coagulation/filtration, lime softening, adsorption method, ion exchange and membrane processes are the usable methods for the arsenic removal from the wastewaters. Adsorption processes is one of the most used methods because of adsorbent diversity, easiness of the processes and being economic. In this study, removal of the arsenic solutions prepared by standard reference material with magnetic activated carbon was examined and optimum conditions were identified. Kinetic and thermodynamic studies were conducted in identified conditions; suitable adsorptions isotherms were identified. Adsorbents were characterized with XRD, FT-IR and SEM. The effect of the solution pH in adsorption analysis, initial arsenic concentration and adsorbent amount were examined. Optimum conditions for the maximum arsenic adsorption with Fe3O4-TAK were identified as pH: 2, time 240 min. adsorbent amount 0.15 g and temperature 293K. Also, arsenic removal analysis was conducted in real wastewaters. With the aim of increasing arsenic removal, activated carbon is covered with Fe3O4 and compared with activated carbon in order to identify the removal yield. Following the results, it is identified that the azote and phosphorus adsorption yield is low and arsenic adsorption yield is high. Because of that reason we conducted our studies on arsenic adsorption.