Enhancing Adsorption and Desorption of Arsenic on Carbon Xerogel Nanocomposites in Aqueous Solution: Process Optimization

Abstract

Arsenic, a widespread contaminant, has become a major public health concern, threatening millions globally. This study aims to develop magnetic adsorbents for easy recovery from aqueous media to remove arsenic, mitigating its environmental and health impacts. Response surface methodology (RSM) is proposed to optimize the adsorption-desorption process of As(III) and As(V) on carbon xerogel nanocomposites from aqueous solutions. A second-order polynomial model under a central composite design with a central face was employed to optimize arsenic desorption. The model parameters were estimated using least squares. Additionally, a novel linear model approach was employed to develop a second-degree polynomial model for optimizing arsenic adsorption-desorption by analyzing the effects of various factor combinations. RSM’s ability to analyze the response variable over a wide range of independent variable values allows it to identify the region where the response variable reaches its optimum value.