ABSTRACT
The presence of arsenic in the environment has been one of the main causes of contamination in surface and groundwater. Arsenic can be found in four oxidation states, such as trivalent arsenic (As(III)), pentavalent arsenic (As(V)), arsine (As(-III)) and elemental arsenic (As0). It is mainly found as As(III) and As(V) in groundwater. In the present work, MDP’s membranes were developed by an adsorbent material and two additives. The material was synthesized and characterized, obtaining a surface area of 55.005 m2 g−1 and a pore diameter of 34.11Å, the material has a crystalline structure and tends to change its chemical composition from 281.14°C. A 23 factorial design was performed for to obtain the optimal conditions for the preparation of the membranes for the factors of adsorbent material goethite (FeOOH), binder (Al2O3) and lubricant (C18H36O2). The membranes were pressed to 1.5 tons and sintered at 600°C, converting the goethite material (FeOOH) to hematite (Fe2O3). The membrane was analyzed by physisorption of nitrogen and was obtained a surface area of 39.4249 m2 g−1 and a pore diameter of 83.01Å. Finally the adsorption kinetics was performed for five membranes with the same characteristics of the MDP6 membrane. According to the kinetics, it was observed that the MDP2 membrane showed an elimination of 41% of arsenic As(V) at an initial concentration of 0.49 mg L−1.
