Adsorption of Arsenic on MgAl Layered Double Hydroxide

Groundwater in the Eastern Croatia, as well in the South-eastern Hungary, contains relatively high concentrations of arsenic that can cause chronic toxicity to humans. Therefore, the aim to find an effective composite adsorbent that can be applied for arsenic water remediation by introducing it in the groundwater treatment is very important. The presented results were obtained using layered double hydroxide (LDH) as a sorbing system. MgAl LDH samples with a Mg:Al molar ratio of 2:1 were synthesized. Adsorption of arsenic anions from groundwater samples from Eastern Croatia, as well as adsorption of model aquatic arsenic sample solutions, on MgAl layered double hydroxide was investigated. Inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) was used for determination of arsenic concentration after adsorption. It was shown that in both cases the adsorption process could be interpreted in terms of Kroeker adsorption isotherm regardless to the presence of other ions in the groundwater. Additionally, the influence of phosphate concentration on adsorption of model arsenic samples was examined and it was shown that (at least in examined range of arsenic and phosphate concentration) there is no significant influence of phosphate on adsorption of arsenic