Visual MINTEQ simulation for prediction of the adsorption of arsenic on ferrihydrite

The surface of ferrihydrite adsorbs arsenic (As) effectively. In this investigation, the As laced water samples collected from Geita and Mara regions within the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) under DAFWAT project were simulated on Visual MINTEQ 3.1 software to determine the amount of ferrihydrite required to adsorb a given amount of As from water. Model simulations show that As concentration of ≤1mM can be completely adsorbed by 4 g L−1 ferrihydrite. Previous studies show that the lower pH 4 to 4.5 influences adsorption, while it decreases as pH increases as well as when As concentration increases. The increase of adsorbent dose to 4 g L−1 has shown to improve As(V) adsorption on pH 5 to 8 at 100%. The amount of adsorbent can now be used for laboratory adsorption experiments by using iron-based materials or commercial ferrihydrite.