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Removal of arsenate from groundwater by electrocoagulation method

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Abstract

Purpose

Arsenic, a toxic metalloid in drinking water, has become a major threat for human beings and other organisms. In the present work, attempts have been made to remove arsenate from the synthetic as well as natural water of Ballia district, India by electrocoagulation method. Efforts have also been made to optimize the various parameters such as initial arsenate concentration, pH, applied voltage, processing time, and working temperature.

Method

Electrocoagulation is a fast, inexpensive, selective, accurate, reproducible, and eco-friendly method for arsenate removal from groundwater. The present paper describes an electrocoagulation method for arsenate removal from groundwater using iron and zinc as anode and cathode, respectively.

Results

The maximum removal of arsenate was 98.8% at 2.0 mg L−1, 7.0, 3.0 V, 10.0 min, and 30°C as arsenate concentration, pH, applied voltage, processing time, and working temperature, respectively. Relative standard deviation, coefficient of determination (r 2), and confidence limits were varied from 1.50% to 1.59%, 0.9996% to 0.9998%, and 96.0% to 99.0%, respectively. The treated water was clear, colorless, and odorless without any secondary contamination. The developed and validated method was applied for arsenate removal of two samples of groundwater of Ballia district, U.P., India, having 0.563 to 0.805 mg L−1, arsenate concentrations.

Conclusions

The reported method is capable for the removal of arsenate completely (100% removal) from groundwater of Ballia district. There was no change in the groundwater quality after the removal of arsenate. The treated water was safe for drinking, bathing, and recreation purposes. Therefore, this method may be the choice of arsenate removal from natural groundwater.

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Acknowledgments

One of the author (Mohd. Asim) is thankful to University Grants Commission, New Delhi for providing research fellowship to him.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University), New Delhi, 110025, India

    Imran Ali, Tabrez A. Khan & Mohd Asim

Authors
  1. Imran Ali
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  2. Tabrez A. Khan
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  3. Mohd Asim
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Correspondence to Imran Ali.

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Responsible editor: Vinod Kumar Gupta

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Ali, I., Khan, T.A. & Asim, M. Removal of arsenate from groundwater by electrocoagulation method. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 1668–1676 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0681-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0681-3

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