3.2. Adsorption of arsenic
3.2.1. Effect of pH on As(V) adsorption
The pH is an important parameter in metal ion sorption process; because proton concentration can strongly modify the chemical speciation of sorbates as well as surface charge of sorbents, can strongly modify the redox potential of sorbates and sorbents, provoke dissolution of the sorbent material. Fig. 3 shows the effect of pH on the removal % of As(V) onto C, G and GC. As seen in the Fig. 3, as pH of solution increase the removal % increase till reach a maximum value. Potassium hydroxide activated carbon sample (C) shows a maximum removal % at pH > 8.5, calcium alginate beads (G) and calcium alginate/activated carbon composite beads (GC) at pH around 7.0. Lower adsorption of As(V) at acidic pH (pH < pHPZC) is probably due to the presence of excess H+ ions competing with As(V) for adsorption sites. As surface charge density decreases with an increase in the solution pH (pH > pHPZC), the electrostatic repulsion between the positively charged As(V) and the surface of adsorbents is lowered, which may result in an increase in the removal % (V) [29]. At higher pH (pH > 9.5) values a decrease in removal % were observed and could be explained by the repulsion between negative charge of the predominant anionic species in solution (H2AsO4−1 and HAsO42−) and the negative surface charge of the sorbents [30].