Investigating the influence of thermal evaporation method on the heavy metal pollution index (HPI) of groundwater

Abstract

Groundwater plays a substantial role in satisfying freshwater demand for different purposes worldwide. The degradation of groundwater by various industrial and anthropogenic activities has become a significant problem in recent times. Specifically, the intrusion of heavy metal substances into the groundwater aquifers through industrial effluents is a critical concern. Therefore, the evaluation of groundwater quality has become the need of the hour in order to guarantee the sustainable and secure utilization of freshwater for farming, commercial, and, most importantly, domestic applications. In this study, the groundwater quality and the Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI) of an industrial area in Tamil Nadu, India, called ‘Thoothukudi’, have been evaluated in order to determine the influence of industrial activities on the groundwater quality. In total, ten groundwater samples were accessed from the borewells located near the major industrial areas. The parameters, namely pH, total hardness (TH), electrical conductivity (EC), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and lead (Pb) levels of the groundwater samples were evaluated. Further, the samples were treated using solar thermal-based evaporative (STBE) arrangements. The HPI values of the raw samples demonstrated that the groundwater in the studied areas was affected by heavy metal contamination. The distillation of the groundwater samples exhibited that the STBE method is an effective and energy-efficient tool to eradicate the heavy metal contamination of the groundwater. Specifically, the average day-wise yield of the STBE arrangement was reported as 2838 ml/day in the lab-scale experiments.