Treatment of arsenic in Bangladesh well water using a household co-precipitation and filtration system

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Abstract

Laboratory and field tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a household filtration process and investigate the effects of phosphate and silicate on the removal of arsenic from Bangladesh groundwater by ferric hydroxides. Fe/As ratios of greater than 40 (mg/mg) were required to reduce arsenic to less than 50μg/L in Bangladesh well water due to the presence of elevated phosphate and silicate concentrations. The household filtration process included co-precipitation of arsenic by adding a packet (approximately 2g) of ferric and hypochlorite salts to 20L of well water and subsequent filtration of the water through a bucket sand filter. A field demonstration study was performed to test the treatment system in seven households in Bangladesh in March and April 2000. Experimental results obtained from the participating families proved that the household treatment process removed arsenic from approximately 300μg/L in the well water to less than 50μg/L. The participating families liked this simple and affordable process and used it to prepare clean water for drinking and cooking. A larger scale field test is currently underway.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2805-2810
Number of pages6
JournalWater Research
Volume35
Issue number12
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001

Keywords

  • Adsorption
  • Arsenic
  • Bangladesh
  • Co-precipitation
  • Phosphate
  • Silicate
  • Speciation

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