Remediation of inorganic arsenic in groundwater for safe water supply: a critical assessment of technological solutions

Abstract

Arsenic contaminations of groundwater in several parts of the world are the results of natural and/or anthropogenic sources, and have a large impact on human health. Millions of people from different countries rely on groundwater containing As for drinking purposes. This paper reviews removal technologies (oxidation, coagulation flocculation, adsorption, ion exchange and membrane processes) with attention for the drawbacks and limitations of these applied technologies. The technologies suggested and applied for treatment of As rich water have various problems, including the need for further treatment of As containing secondary waste generated from these water treatment processes. More efficient technologies, with a lower tendency to generate waste include the removal of As by membrane distillation or forward osmosis, instead of using pressure driven membrane processes and subsequently reducing soluble As to commercially valuable metallic As are surveyed. An integrated approach of two or more techniques is suggested to be more beneficial than a single process. Advanced technologies such as membrane distillation, forward osmosis as well as some hybrid integrated techniques and their potentials are also discussed in this review. Membrane processes combined with other process (especially iron based technologies) are thought to be most sustainable for the removal of arsenic and further research allowing scale up of these technologies is suggested.