Background & Objectives: Humic Acid (HA) compounds affects water quality, such as color, taste and odor. The compounds not only react with disinfectants to produce disinfection by-products (DBPs) harmful to human health. Iron oxide magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) have a high adsorption capacity to adsorb to organic matter. In this study HA removal by IOMNPs was surveyed in aqueous solutions.

Methods:  The effects of pH value, agitation rate, adsorbent dose, contact time and the adsorbate concentration on the adsorption efficiency were studied as critical parameters. In addition, effect of ionic strength on the adsorption process and effluent turbidity was surveyed. The MNPs was characterized by X-ray diffraction.

Results: Results revealed that at HA concentration of 10 mg/L, pH 4.5, adsorbent dose of 2.7 g/l, agitation rate of 250 rpm and contact time of 90 min at presence of 0.1 M NaCl as an ionic strength agent, the HA removal reached to about 98%. Also, the turbidity of treated samples was increased with increasing of HA loading. On the other hand, increases of ionic strength resulting in increase of removal efficiency and decrees of effluent turbidity.

Conclusion: With increasing HA concentration, adsorption capacity of MNPs was increased and HA removal efficiency was decreased. Increasing of ionic strength leads to increase of removal efficiency and decrease of nano particles release. MNPs are easily attracted to the magnetic field application leads to easy separation from aquatic environment.