Arsenic remediation by Australian laterites

The efficiency of Australian laterites in arsenic adsorption has been examined using three laterite samples collected from different locations in South Australia. The characteristics such as electrical conductivity, pH, mineral compositions, and isoelectric point of laterite samples have been measured. The laterite samples are mainly composed of iron and aluminum oxides, and rutile (TiO₂). Two batch experiments have been performed to compare the efficiencies of different laterites to remove AS (III) from water at two different doses, and to examine whether pH influences arsenic adsorption. For 50 mg/l arsenic solution, at doses 1,000 g (laterite)/l (arsenic solution) and 200 g/l, the laterites removed more than 97% and 87–97%, respectively. At the dose of 200 g/l, adsorption capacity has been found to be 200–243 mg/kg. Out of the laterite samples from three localities, the Kangaroo Island laterite performed the best. This is probably related to its high content of gibbsite. It has been found that arsenic adsorption by laterite is not significantly affected at the examined pH ranges of 4.7–10.0.