Arsenic Removal from Water: A Review

Arsenic contamination of underground water has been reported from many parts of the world. In most of the affected areas, substitution of drinking water source by a safe and easily available one may not be possible. Arsenic removal from these water sources is a more appropriate option. This article gives a brief overview over the possible arsenic removal options for safe drinking water supply in the arsenic affected areas. All these options were tested in the laboratory and effect of various parameters such as pH, initial arsenic concentration, arsenic speciation, dose of chemical used, interference by coions etc. was studied. Adsorption of arsenic on iron salts such as Granular Ferric Hydroxide (GFH) and silica ferric complex adsorbent (Sfca) was found to be most effective option for arsenic removal.