Arsenic removal in solution using non living bio masses of aquatic weed

Arsenic is a metalloid considered among the most dangerous to health. The As maximum level allowed of drinkable water is 0.01 mg/L established by the Who. Several techniques have been proposed to remove arsenic from water, among which are the sorption processes in economic biological materials, which has advantages for its high efficiency in dilute toxic removing from contaminated water, for these reason it is necessary to study new bio sorbents materials which are economic, simple and easy to apply in the treatment of contaminated areas. The aim of this project was evaluate the removal of As (V) in solution using two non living aquatic plants: water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and lesser duckweed (Lemna minor), characterize these materials and compare the efficiency between both; the parameters evaluated were the As (V) initial concentration in solution, contact time, ph value and the amount of biomass in contact with them. It describes the method to prepare the non living plants. The physicochemical characterization by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis was made. The results shown that cellulose is the main component confirmed by the techniques above mentioned. Surface characterization of Eichhornia crassipes and Lemna minor by specific surface area, shown 1.3521 m2/g and 0.6395 m2/g respectively, the hydration kinetic indicates that 24 h was the maximum hydration time for both plants; the point of zero charge determination by mass titration gives a ph=6.1 for the first plant and ph=7.1 for the second plant, finally the active site density obtained for the plants were of 8.57 sites/nm2 and 12.47 sites/nm2. The point of zero charge was analyzed for know the ph from which the As (V) species are removal preferably. Tested contact processes between bio sorbent-As (V) were performed to assess the ability of bio masses to removal As (V) from aqueous solutions, investigated parameters were the As (V) concentration, contact time, ph and the bio sorbent mass. Maximum removal concentration of As (V) was 75% for both not living biomass using a initial concentration As (V) of 0.1 mg/L, 100 mg of bio sorbent, ph=9, and 24 hours contact time at the same ph value. In particular both bio masses, for their determined properties, were found to be potential bio sorbents/accumulators for arsenic ions from aqueous solution and they can be used in a very low cost metalloid ions removal system. (Author)