The environmental applications of pristine silica (SiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) for arsenic removal have been limited by their severe aggregation and lack of functional groups. Amine-modified SiO2(NH2) NPs were incorporated in PLA for the removal of 100 ppb of arsenic; a concentration much higher than what has been reported for surface water in Iran. FTIR analysis has demonstrated that the amine modified SiO2 NPs have been successfully prepared. Addition of SiO2 and SiO2(NH2) increased the porosity, water uptake, mechanical strength, hydrophilicity and permeability of the membrane up to 1.0 and 1.5 wt.%, respectively. The batch adsorption experiments were conducted to assess the equilibrium adsorption capacity and kinetics of adsorptive membranes. The Langmuir and Freundlich models demonstrated good correlation for membranes containing SiO2 and SiO2(NH2) NPs, respectively. Both kinds of the membranes demonstrated behavior consistent with the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, which can be linked to rapid electrostatic adsorption. Dynamic adsorption of the PLA- SiO2(NH2)-1.0 membrane was assessed through three adsorption-desorption cycles. The results confirmed the favorable properties of the SiO2(NH2), effectively reducing As (V) concentration in contaminated water (100 ppb) to levels below the maximum concentration level (MCL).
