Synthesis of Alumina-Modified Cigarette Soot Carbon As an Adsorbent for Efficient Arsenate Removal

In this study, the alumina (Al₂O₃) modified cigarette soot carbon (CSC) (Al₂O₃/CSC) were fabricated via a simple one-step thermal method using CSC as template. The as-synthesized Al₂O₃/CSC were used as adsorbents for efficient arsenate (As­(V)) elimination. Different weight ratios of Al₂O₃/CSC (Al₂O₃:CSC = 1:1, 2:1, and 3:1) were fabricated, and the corresponding As­(V) removal performance revealed that the synthesized 2Al₂O₃/CSC (mass ratio) possessed the best separation property and the highest adsorption capacity. A natural groundwater sample collected from Togtoh county, Inner Mongolia (China), with an initial concentration of 233 μg/L As­(V) was applied to test the 2Al₂O₃/CSC application in actual groundwater purification. After processing with 2Al₂O₃/CSC, the As­(V) concentration was reduced to 8.0 μg/L, which met the quality standard of World Health Organization (WHO). A regeneration test indicated that the 2Al₂O₃/CSC could be reused for at least six times without significant decrease in the adsorption capacity. The as-synthesized 2Al₂O₃/CSC with the maximum removal capacity of 96.9 mg/g for As­(V) would be a promising material for the efficient removal of As­(V) from groundwater with high As­(V) concentrations in actual applications.