Investigation of As(V) removal from acid mine drainage by iron (hydr) oxide modified zeolite

•The study highlights the changes that zeolite undergoes when exposed to iron-laden water.•The removal of arsenic from mine-impacted water by this hybrid surface was comprehensively studied.•The removal of arsenic was shown to proceed through surface complexation and was not pH dependent.•The speciation of arsenic was predicted using speciation modelling.•Modelling results gave insights into the mechanisms of arsenic removal.

In this work, the synthesis of iron (hydr) oxide modified zeolite was achieved through precipitation of iron on the zeolite. The structure and surface morphology of iron (hydr) oxide modified zeolite (IHOMZ) was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), coupled with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra. The efficiency of IHOMZ was then investigated through batch technique for the extraction of As(V) from mine waste water. The optimum parameters for maximum As(V) adsorption were: an initial As(V) concentration (10 mg L−1), adsorbent dosage (3.0 g), contact time (90 min) and temperature (53 °C). The initial pH of the solution had no compelling effect on As(V) adsorption by IHOMZ. However, adsorption capacity was significantly affected by the solution temperature with 53 °C registering the maximum removal efficiency. The thermodynamic parameters: Entropy (ΔS° = 0.00815 kJ (K mol)−1), variation of the Gibbs free energy (ΔG°) and enthalpy (ΔH° = 9.392 kJ mol−1) of As(V) adsorption onto IHOMZ system signified a non-spontaneous and endothermic process. It was noted that Freundlich isotherm model exhibited a better fit to the equilibrium experimental data, implying that the adsorption process occurred on a heterogeneous surface. The kinetic data from As(V) adsorption experiments was depicted by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model (R2 > 0.999), suggesting a chemisorption adsorption process. The experimental batch equilibrium results indicated that IHOMZ could be used as an effective sorbent for As(V) ion extraction from acid mine drainage.