Removal of Arsenic (III) from water with a combination of Graphene Oxide (GO) and Granular Ferric Hydroxide (GFH) at the optimum molecular ratio

The occurrence of arsenic in water is a global problem for public health. Several removal technologies have been developed for arsenic removal from water, and adsorption onto iron oxyhydroxides is the most widely used technique. Granular ferric hydroxide (GFH) has been used mainly for As(V) removal, but it has the disadvantage that it can create a problem with the residual concentration of iron in the water. Moreover, graphene oxide (GO), which contains a large amount of reactive oxygen, exhibits high adsorbing capacity. In this study, the combined use of GO and GFH as adsorbent materials in different molar ratios was investigated in order to achieve the maximum As(III) removal from aqueous solutions. The effect of the adsorbent’s dosage, pH value, contact time, initial As(III), and different molar ratios of GO/GFH was examined. As depicted, the presence of GFH enhances the use of GO. In particular, the molar ratio of GO/GFH 2:1 (i.e., 0.2 g/L GO and 0.1 g/L GFH) is chosen as optimal at pH value 7.0 ± 0.1, while the removal percentage increased from 10% (absence of GFH) to 90% with the simultaneous addition of GFH. Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic models described the experimental data adequately and the highest adsorption capacity that was achieved was 22.62 µg/g.