Performance of Nano-Magnetite for Removal of Selenium from Aqueous Solutions

Selenium (Se) is emerging as a contaminant that must be dealt with in many areas of the world, especially those areas impacted by past or current mining activities. In this study, we evaluate the effectiveness of synthesized nano-magnetite when used as an adsorbent to remove anionic selenium species from aqueous solutions. In conjunction with studies on the effects of pH, temperature, concentration, contact time, and presence of competing anions on selenium removal efficiency, a series of batch adsorption experiments were conducted to study adsorption isotherms and adsorptive thermodynamics. Compared with either natural magnetite (