Oxidation of arsenic (III) and adsorption of arsenic (V) by manganese oxide nanowires

Arsenic is a carcinogenic substance that can be found in many water bodies worldwide. Generally, in water bodies, they occur as arsenite As(III) or arsenate As(V), present as +3 or +5 states respectively. As(III) is more toxic and harder to be removed as compared to As(V), and require prior oxidation to As(V) for effective removal. Current available technologies for arsenic removal are mainly useful for the adsorption of As(V), but not oxidation of As(III). Thus, it is not very effective in total arsenic removal. To achieve a better arsenic removal, pretreatment for As(III) oxidation to As(V) is required as an arsenic detoxification pathway before the removal of arsenic from water. Hence, this research was conducted to explore the feasibility of using a multi-functional manganese oxide nanowires (K-OMS-2) membrane that allows concurrent oxidation of As(III) and adsorption As(V), in order to achieve a higher arsenic removal.Bachelor of Engineering (Environmental Engineering