Titanium Oxyhydroxide – A New Effective Candidate for Resolving the Challenging Water Quality Issue of High Alkalinity

Abstract The use of highly alkaline water in irrigation can result in major problems for soils that have received its application. Therefore, these waters are conventionally neutralized to benign alkalinity levels through the addition of acids, which add unwanted anions, can solubilize toxic trace elements, and are dangerous to the user. Solid titanium oxyhydroxide, TiO(OH)2, has the potential to efficiently reduce alkalinity without the problems associated with acid additions. In this work, TiO(OH)2 is synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for its use in alkaline water remediation. Characterization of TiO(OH)2 was completed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis. Open and closed reaction systems were used to quantify the ability of TiO(OH)2 to remove both HCO3- and CO32- anions from aqueous solutions. A reaction mechanism was proposed based on the results from these systems in conjunction with an attenuated total reflectance Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) analysis of the aqueous interfacial species.