Water Pollutants Removal by Coated Quartz Sand

Abstract

Presence of major environmental pollutants in water can cause a variety of harmful effects on living organisms in ecosystems. Very often, apart from the ubiquitous arsenic (As), organic compounds, iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, and similar pollutants may reach dramatically high levels in originally unpolluted waters due to various anthropogenic activities. These elevated levels have major negative effects on the environment and require action. The aim of this research was to propose a new approach to the development and production of cost-effective water pollutant removal media based on natural minerals. The synthesis process is based on chemical and subsequent thermal treatment of quartz sand with a magnesium carbonate water solution. The MgO-coated sand in a 5 min. interaction in column operation with 250 mL of synthetic water with 200 μg/L of As(V), 0.51 mg/L of Fe(III), and 1.41 mg/L of Mn(II) removed more than 90% of the As(V). The final concentrations of arsenic, iron, and manganese in treated waters were very close to zero after 10 min of contact with active materials. The removal process is based on redox and sorption processes on the surface and inside the pores of the active material.