Arsenate Adsorption Mechanism on Nano-ball Allophane by Langmuir Adsorption Equation

Abstract

Arsenic is considered as the synonym of death. High toxicity of arsenic in nature is a worldwide problem and often referred to as 20th -21st century calamity. High arsenic concentration has been reported recently from USA, China, Chile, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina, Poland, Canada, Hungry, Japan and India. Among all the countries Bangladesh and West Bengal of India are at the high risk. Thus arsenic disposal became an important task. In the present study an attempt is made to study the adsorption of toxic arsenic on allophanes.
The adsorption of arsenate on a low Si/Al ratio allophane (KyP) was found to be very effective in reducing the amount of arsenic below the toxic level. The examination of adsorption isotherm of arsenate on allophane by Langmuir theory indicated that arsenate adsorption increased with the increasing bulk solution concentration. The observed increase in the pH can be attributed to the ligand exchange on allophane. Aluminol groups, Al-OH or Al-OH2, on allophane are responsible for the adsorption in soil.