title: Characteristics of arsenic adsorption to sorghum biomass.
abstract: The development of efficient and economic new adsorbent materials for the removal of arsenic from groundwater is a priority in regions where human health is directly affected by elevated arsenic concentrations. Adsorption of arsenic on sorghum biomass (SB) was investigated for the removal of arsenic from aqueous solutions. Potentiometric titrations and FTIR analysis evidenced two potential binding sites associated with carboxyl and hydroxyl groups. Batch experiments were carried out to determine the equilibrium time for arsenic adsorption to SB. The effect of pH on arsenic adsorption to SB was investigated for a pH range of 2.0-10.0. A strong influence of pH was demonstrated with a maximum removal of arsenic at pH 5.0. Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms were applied to equilibrium data. The Freundlich model fitted the equilibrium data and provided evidence for site heterogeneity at the binding surface. Column experiments were performed to obtain the breakthrough curves for both non-immobilized sorghum biomass and immobilized sorghum biomass.
authors.affiliation: Water Environment Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96, Göteborg, Sweden. Nazmul.haque@wet.chalmers.se
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Haque
authors.forename: G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Perrusquía
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gutierréz
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Aguilera
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cano-Aguilera
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gardea-Torresdey
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D018533:Biomass; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000032:analysis*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007700:Kinetics; D008956:Models, Chemical; D011199:Potentiometry; D045868:Sorghum / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic