Arsenic Removal from Ground Water: A Low Cost Filter Media
Shailesh Kumar Jha
Hindustan College of Science & Technology, UPTU, Vaishali, Ghaziabad (UP-201010), India.
Abstract—Arsenic is a major environmental pollutant and exposure occurs through environmental, occupational medicinal sources. Arsenic contamination of groundwater is a naturally occurring high concentration of Arsenic in deeper levels of ground water. The contaminated drinking water is the main source of exposure and affected countries are India (West Bengal), Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Chile, Argentina and Romania. Concentrations of arsenic in affected areas are several times higher than the Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) (10 ¦Ì g/L). Arsenic exposure to human results in degenerative, inflammatory and neoplastic changes of skin, respiratory system, blood, lymphatic system, nervous system and reproductive system. There is no particular remedial action for chronic arsenic poisoning. Low socioeconomic status and malnutrition may increase the risk of chronic toxicity. Early intervention and prevention can give the relief to the affected population. A 2011 study found that over 1 in 1000 people in more than 70 countries are probably affected by Arsenic poisoning. Like many places of India, Arsenic in ground water is a serious problem at Eastern belt of West Bengal, Bharatpur city of Rajasthan, Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh and many more. This study was done to check potential of removing Arsenic from ground water by available waste of common Iron rust, which is chemically Fe2O3 . It was found that the Arsenic removal capacity of this media is more than 90% and which is superior to using hydrous ferric oxide (FeOOH) gel, for removing Arsenic, TDS and color too. In this work various experiments were done to prove the better Arsenic removal capacity of rust, which were compared with the results of FeOOH for various water parameters. Lastly it was found that using Iron rust is more efficient in removing Arsenic from ground water.
Index Terms—Arsenic, Arsenic contamination, Groundwater, Water supply, Asia
Cite: Shailesh Kumar Jha, "Arsenic Removal from Ground Water: A Low Cost Filter Media," International Journal of Pharma Medicine and Biological Sciences, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 64-69, October 2014.