758 XXXI International Mineral Processing Congress 2024 Proceedings/Washington, DC/Sep 29–Oct 3
of 0.08 mg/L, as seen in Figure 4. In this figure, the solid
lines represent simulations with the same column bed
height and flow rate, but different initial concentrations.
For As(V) removal concerning higher concentrations, mul-
tiple adsorption stages may be needed to reduce the effluent
concentration to below DENR standards. To increase the
contact time of the adsorbate with the goethite, variation of
the bed height and flow rate may be further explored.
Although the final As(V) concentration in the 1 mg/L
wastewater exceeded the 0.08 mg/L limit, the wastewater
containing 1 mg/L of As(V) still had a high percent removal
ranging from 65.56% to 90.45%, Table 8 summarizes the
percent metal removal achieved and effluent concentration
and compares it to the DENR effluent standard.
CONCLUSIONS
This study investigated the effects of varying the column
bed height, flow rate, and initial species concentration on
the treatment of As(V)-containing mine wastewater using
a fixed-bed column of synthetic goethite. This involved
the use of COMSOL Multiphysics for the simulation of
the behavior of the fixed-bed adsorption column with an
emphasis on the removal of arsenic from single-component
wastewater. For the concentrations studied, the following
were observed:
Figure 2. Breakthrough curves of single-component As(V) wastewater with varied flow rates
Column bed height =1 m, Initial concentration =0.08 mg/L
Table 6. Saturation times for different flow rates for constant column bed heights and initial
As(V) concentrations
Column Bed
Height (m)
Initial Concentration
of As(V)
Flow Rate
(mL/min) Saturation Time
1 0.08 mg/L 200 7725 mins
(129 hrs)
Longer Saturation Time
1000 2085 mins
(35 hrs)
Shorter Saturation Time
0.5 1 mg/L 200 1510 mins
(25 hrs)
Longer Saturation Time
1000 395 mins
(7 hrs)
Shorter Saturation Time
of 0.08 mg/L, as seen in Figure 4. In this figure, the solid
lines represent simulations with the same column bed
height and flow rate, but different initial concentrations.
For As(V) removal concerning higher concentrations, mul-
tiple adsorption stages may be needed to reduce the effluent
concentration to below DENR standards. To increase the
contact time of the adsorbate with the goethite, variation of
the bed height and flow rate may be further explored.
Although the final As(V) concentration in the 1 mg/L
wastewater exceeded the 0.08 mg/L limit, the wastewater
containing 1 mg/L of As(V) still had a high percent removal
ranging from 65.56% to 90.45%, Table 8 summarizes the
percent metal removal achieved and effluent concentration
and compares it to the DENR effluent standard.
CONCLUSIONS
This study investigated the effects of varying the column
bed height, flow rate, and initial species concentration on
the treatment of As(V)-containing mine wastewater using
a fixed-bed column of synthetic goethite. This involved
the use of COMSOL Multiphysics for the simulation of
the behavior of the fixed-bed adsorption column with an
emphasis on the removal of arsenic from single-component
wastewater. For the concentrations studied, the following
were observed:
Figure 2. Breakthrough curves of single-component As(V) wastewater with varied flow rates
Column bed height =1 m, Initial concentration =0.08 mg/L
Table 6. Saturation times for different flow rates for constant column bed heights and initial
As(V) concentrations
Column Bed
Height (m)
Initial Concentration
of As(V)
Flow Rate
(mL/min) Saturation Time
1 0.08 mg/L 200 7725 mins
(129 hrs)
Longer Saturation Time
1000 2085 mins
(35 hrs)
Shorter Saturation Time
0.5 1 mg/L 200 1510 mins
(25 hrs)
Longer Saturation Time
1000 395 mins
(7 hrs)
Shorter Saturation Time