Arsenic is one of the toxic elements that remain in water after some extraction processes and is known to cause severe health effects such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases; hence, its complete removal should be pursued to allow the provision of safe drinking water.
Knowing efficient ways of removing arsenic will go a long way in providing clean water to vulnerable communities and improving their health. These include adsorption, the use of activated alumina or iron-based media, ion exchange that swaps the dangerous arsenic ions with other safer ones, and reverse osmosis, which carries out filtration using a semi-permeable membrane.
Other methods of oxidation enable a reduction in arsenic extractability since the element transforms into a more soluble form. Below we discuss how to remove arsenic from water.
Adsorption
Adsorption is the most preferred method in the removal of dissolved arsenic from water. This process involves materials that attract and trap arsenic particles in such a fashion that they do not remain in the water.
In most cases, the material in which the adsorbent is placed includes activated alumina as well as iron-based media. That is, these materials have a large surface area for the purpose of adsorbing a large amount of arsenic. Instead, the water with arsenic passes through a layer of the adsorbent material that traps arsenic.
Ion Exchange
Ion exchange is a process in which ions that are felt to be more noxious, for instance arsenic, are traded with less objectionable ions, chlorides. It implies the use of resin beads which have some specific ions to create this technique.
According to the process, when water is passed through the resin then the arsenic ions accept the safer ions from the surface of the resin. These treatment categories although good, are however most efficient where the arsenic level is low to moderate. This process is also beneficial for other water chemicals’ elimination including nitrate and sulfate.
Reverse Osmosis
Filtering is another method used to filter arsenic water; here with the help of the RO method, water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane to filter arsenic and other components out. This membrane permits water molecules to pass through and reject bigger molecules and particles: arable and elements such as iron, copper, antimony, and arsenic included.
The success rate of RO is high; these systems are able to remove arsenic from water at a rate of up to 99 percent. These are widely used in homes and offices.
Conclusion
Eradicating arsenic from the drinking water is essential since it poses some health consequences. As a result, quality water is essential in the provision of health to the public. In this case, the methods covered were adsorption, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, oxidation, and filtration. All of them have their own utility and importance in various ways.
In this case, therefore, the identification of the best method is partly made on the basis of the concentration of arsenic in the water, the constitution of the water, and the available technologies. Kindly reach out for more information.
