Abstract
Arsenic in drinking water resources and, especially, in groundwater, represents a severe health problem for millions of people in affected regions. This paper investigates a removal technology combining non-thermal plasma at a reaction time of 30 min, which has improved the downstream coagulation and the filtration efficiency. The results show removal rates of total arsenic over 98%. In addition, WHO limits of less than 10 μ g L − 1 could be achieved in both batch and continuous set-ups. A difference in effective over potential of the NTP reaction of 32 m V over a reaction using air as oxidant was calculated. Kinetic data of arsenic concentrations over time fitted a pseudo first-order reaction. The proposed process combination has shown to be a simple and energy-saving alternative compared to conventional oxidation and adsorption technologies by exploiting the ’enhancer’ effect of ozone and other reactive oxygen species within the NTP.
Highlights
Arsenic in groundwater resources represents a severe health issue for millions of people around the world
This study describes an innovative approach for arsenic removal fromwater through a combination of non-thermal plasma (NTP) treatment, coagulation, and UF, which will be compared to previously reported technologies
The general treatment process consisted of four main steps (Figure 1): (1) Filling of raw water into the reactor vessel; (2) Dosing of coagulant solution (FeCl3, Al2 (SO4 )3 ) and co-current aeration, mixing and oxidation with non-thermal plasma or, in a blind test, just with ambient air, respectively
Summary
Arsenic in groundwater resources represents a severe health issue for millions of people around the world. In Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, China, India, Mexico, Serbia and the USA, wide areas are affected. The origin of arsenic can be either geogenic, i.e., volcanic activity and dissolution of minerals, or anthropogenic, i.e., mining and agriculture. As(III) appears while, on the surface, water As(V) is present. As(V) can be classified as less mobile and, less toxic, because it is more likely to be adsorbed to metal hydroxides, i.e., iron or aluminium. The main pathway of intake by the human body is oral by drinking contaminated water
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