Affiliations: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
Shahjalal University of Science and Technology Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh | 1Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh
University of Engineering and Technology Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Abstract: An estimated 35 million people in Bangladesh are now at risk of
arsenic toxicity and treatment of arsenic contaminated water is essential.
Among the methods available for removing arsenic from water, adsorption on
activated alumina is a promising one for implementing on a small-scale rural
community or household levels. In this research work, the effects of a selected
number of water quality parameters such as arsenic concentration, oxidation
state of arsenic and pH in removing arsenic by activated alumina were
evaluated. Bed Volume (BV), quantity of adsorbed arsenic and removal efficiency
up to 50μg/L arsenic level in the effluent were calculated to evaluate the
effectiveness of activated alumina in removing arsenic. The results of the
study show that pentavalent arsenic is removed efficiently than trivalent
arsenic. The BV of treated water decreases with the increase of arsenic
concentration for both of the As(V) and As(III). The study reveals that the
removal efficiency of As(V) is better within the pH range of 5.0 to 6.0,
whereas As(III) removal increases at higher pH values.
Keywords: Activated alumina, trivalent arsenic, pentavalent arsenic, maximum contaminant level (MCL), effectiveness, bed volume (BV)
