Arsenic contamination is a very common problem in groundwater sources, both from human activity and natural sources of arsenic. The WHO estimates that 140 million people worldwide rely on groundwater sources containing unsafe concentrations of arsenic, with long-term effects including cancer, reproductive and developmental harm, neuropathic effects, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and steatosis. Conventional methods of arsenic remediation are effective, but also expensive and unavailable in some regions.<br/>Adsorption is one of the most widely used methods of arsenic remediation. Iron oxides are already used as arsenic adsorbents, but conventional materials are susceptible to interfering species in solution, and must periodically be replaced, increasing treatment cost. Previous studies have shown nanomagnetite to be a promising material for arsenic remediation capable of adsorbing As(V) and As(III). Our study focuses on observing the effects of the polymer surface coating and nanomaterial agglomeration behavior. Effectiveness of nanomaterials was determined with batch and column arsenic adsorption experiments. A breakthrough was the synthesis of nanomaterial clusters, which take the shape of hollow spheres of nanoparticles measuring 300-500nm in diameter. These nanomaterial clusters combine the advantageous properties of nanoparticles such as high surface area with the benefits of microsized particles.

Magnetite nanomaterial clusters as an arsenic filter adsorbent

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