Characteristics of arsenic adsorption to sorghum biomass

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.