Application of fly ash agglomerates in the sorption of arsenic

The scope of this contribution was to investigate in detail an application of fly ash adsorbent for the removal of arsenite ions from a dilute solution. The experiments have been carried out using fly ash from black coal burning power plant "Siersza" and brown coal burning power plant "Turów" (Poland), which was wetted, then mixed and tumbled in the granulator with a small amount of cement to increase the mechanical strength of agglomerates. The measurements of arsenic adsorption from the aqueous solution were carried out in the flask (with shaking), as well as in the column (with circulation), in order to compare two different methods of contacting waste with adsorbent. The adsorption isotherms of arsenic were determined for granulated material, using the Freundlich model. Kinetics studies indicated that the sorption follows a pseudo-first-order (PFO) model (Lagergren) and the Elovich-type model.