Techniques of Arsenic Remediation on Household and Commercial Scale

Arsenic contamination of groundwater is widespread globally. However, its consequences as arsenicosis and other health ailments are observed mainly in developing and underdeveloped countries. This is because As remediation is costly and there is a lack of economic and trained human capital in these nations. It has been reported around 180 million people in South and Southeast Asia alone have been affected by As groundwater contamination. With the growing population and increasing health risks due to the consumption of contaminated water various As remediation techniques are available. Among the economically feasible techniques are household treatment systems. These systems employ either precipitation or absorption as the mode for As removal; Bucket Treatment Units (BTU) and Sono-Kolshi Filters are discussed in this regard. Another household unit is the solar distillation unit (SLOARS) which employs desalination for As removal. However, not much has been done regarding the commercialization of this method. Furthermore, commercial techniques for As removal are also discussed along with emerging technologies. Among commercial techniques, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research Units (BCSIR) have been introduced in the Bangladesh region using adsorption for As removal. However, these units were discontinued due to high production costs and sludge. Similarly, Kanchan Arsenic Filters also employ adsorption for As remediation. The most widely used commercial technologies include ion exchange, desalination and membrane filters which are considered costly compared to the classical methods but more efficient in their removal. Nanoparticles, electrocoagulation and phytoremediation are the emerging methods for As removal. The focus is to develop techniques that are environmentally friendly and economically sustainable.