title: Biosorptive removal of arsenic from drinking water.
abstract: A biomass derived from the plant Momordica charantia has been found to be very efficient in arsenic(III) adsorption. An attempt was made to use this biomass for arsenic(III) removal under different conditions. The parameters optimized were contact time (5-150 min), pH (2-11), concentration of adsorbent (1-50 g/l), concentration of adsorbate (0.1-100mg/l), etc. It was observed that the pH had a strong effect on biosorption capacity. The optimum pH obtained for arsenic adsorption was 9. The influence of common ions such as Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Cd(2+), Se(4+), Cl(-), SO(4)(2-), and HCO(3)(-), at concentrations varying from 5 to 1000 mg/l was investigated. To establish the most appropriate correlation for the equilibrium curves, isotherm studies were performed for As(III) ion using Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The pattern of adsorption fitted well with both models. The biomass of M. charantia was found to be effective for the removal of As(III) with 88% sorption efficiency at a concentration of 0.5mg/l of As(III) solution, and thus uptake capacity is 0.88 mg As(III)/gm of biomass. It appears that this biomass should be used as a palliative food item. Further it also appears that the dietary habits may play a role in the toxic effects of ingested arsenic.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Department of Engineering Chemistry, Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg 491002, CG, India. drpiyush_pandey@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Piyush Kant
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: Shweta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Choubey
authors.forename: Yashu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Verma
authors.forename: Madhurima
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pandey
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chandrashekhar
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D001151:Arsenic / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D019149:Bioreactors / Q000382:microbiology*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic