Aluminum hydroxide hydrogel to remove arsenic from water

Abstract

To describe the making of and the preliminary results from an aluminum hydroxide hydrogel that, when added directly to water, can totally eliminate arsenic, regardless of the nature of the water and the oxidation state of the metalloid. The raw materials used to make the aluminum hydroxide hydrogel were: hydrated aluminum sulfate (which is used to make water safe for drinking), calcium hypochlorite in powder form, ammonium hydroxide, and distilled water (when done at the laboratory scale), and water from inverse osmosis of the same or better quality than the distilled water (when done at a pilot scale). Quality control for the finished product consisted of determining its ability to adsorb arsenic and performing bacteriological tests to demonstrate its sterility. The product was used with water samples to which arsenic had been added in the laboratory and with water samples from the province of Tucumán, Argentina, with naturally occurring arsenic. To analyze the arsenic in the water the colorimetric silver diethyldithiocarbamate method was used. Using the hydrogel greatly reduced the amount of arsenic. Treating both the natural and laboratory-produced arsenical waters yielded arsenic concentrations under the limit (0.01 parts per million) that was detectable with the analytical method used. The bacteriological tests of the finished product indicated there were no viable bacteria. Using the aluminum hydroxide hydrogel produced the desired reduction in the arsenic concentration in the water. This method for removing arsenic is inexpensive and easy to use in scattered rural populations in areas having high arsenic levels and lacking drinkable water, as well as an adequate sanitary and electric-power infrastructure.