Equilibrium and kinetics study on removal of arsenate ions from aqueous solution by CTAB/TiO2 and starch/CTAB/TiO2 nanoparticles: a comparative study.

We present a comparative study on the efficacy of TiO2 nanoparticles for arsenate ion removal after modification with CTAB (N-cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium bromide) followed by coating with starch biopolymer. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), thermogravimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The removal efficiency was studied as a function of contact time, material dose and initial As(V) concentration. CTAB-modified TiO2 showed the highest arsenate ion removal rate (∼99% from 400 µg/L). Starch-coated CTAB-modified TiO2 was found to be best for regeneration. For a targeted solution of 400 µg/L, a material dose of 2 g/L was found to be sufficient to reduce the As(V) concentration below 10 µg/L. Equilibrium was established within 90 minutes of treatment. The sorption pattern followed a Langmuir monolayer pattern, and the maximum sorption capacity was found to be 1.024 mg/g and 1.423 mg/g after starch coating and after CTAB modification, respectively. The sorption mechanisms were governed by pseudo second order kinetics.