Arsenic, a problem in waters around the world

Arsenic is one of the most common natural contaminants in well, river, lake and network waters around the world. This compound can find its way into the water we consume and use in the form of industrial discharges from farms, insecticides and the metal industry. As a result, a large number of water supplies around the world have high concentrations of arsenic that exceed the safe values for human consumption stipulated by the World Health Organization.

Effects of the presence of arsenic in water on our health

The consumption of this compound together with drinking water has a series of adverse reactions on the human body. Arsenic can occur in different forms in nature such as through air, food and water.  In this technical information section we will deal with the effects of arsenic removal from water.

The consumption of small amounts of arsenic on a regular basis in drinking water can cause undesirable effects such as stomach irritation, nausea, itchy feet and respiratory tract irritation. It is therefore of utmost importance to adhere to the minimum non-toxic levels stipulated by the World Health Organization.

Maximum concentrations of arsenic in water

To avoid the risks derived from the presence of arsenic in water for consumption, irrigation and industrial use, a maximum permitted level of arsenic of less than 10 ug/l should be established. This value ensures compliance with the parameters required by legislation around the world by using water treatment equipment that ensures compliance with this parameter.

 
Can arsenic in water be treated?

The most effective and economically viable treatment for the treatment of arsenic in water is the IMA water industrial filters. They reduce the concentration to the minimum required by means of an absorption filter medium.

Arsenic filters can be used for a wide range of applications: 

• Removing arsenic from drinking water for human consumption.
• Treating arsenic from water for irrigation and agriculture.
• Arsenic treatment of well water.
• Water purification plants where in addition to other technologies arsenic treatment equipment is required.

 
How to remove arsenic from water

To remove dissolved arsenic from water, a complete filtration system must be installed to work in suitable conditions for the reduction of this chemical compound from the water to acceptable levels. For this purpose, an arsenic treatment filter should be used.

The treatment of dissolved arsenic must also be carried out under specific conditions of the filter feed water, taking into account parameters such as pH, temperature, sulfates, suspended solids and heavy metals.

All these compounds, which can be present in well and river waters all over the world, are key to achieve a complete removal of arsenic. In many occasions the water to be treated requires not only its reduction to be drinkable, but also the reduction of other parameters before the final treatment of arsenic, such as:

• Turbidity and solids by means of sand filters.
• Iron and manganese by deferrizing filter.
• Chlorine, odor and taste by dechlorinating filter
• Mercury and lead by specific filtration
• Ultrafiltration and high performance filtration.

Once these water parameters are adequate, the water will be in perfect conditions of potability to receive the last arsenic removal treatment, obtaining a drinking water ready for human consumption.

For waters that have several components that require purification, a combination of the different technologies mentioned above should be used, unifying them in a single water treatment plant.

Operating parameters of arsenic water filters

The operation of arsenic filters should be tailored to the concentration of dissolved arsenic present in the water to be treated. Depending on how high this concentration is, two different filtration systems will be installed:

• For a reduced amount of arsenic only one filtration stage by means of an industrial filter will be required.
• For high arsenic concentrations, a two-stage purification system should be designed with two industrial filtration units installed in line.

Sometimes a PH regulation equipment should be included to control that this is lower than 7.0 in order to keep the arsenic dissolved in the water in perfect conditions to be absorbed.

Arsenic absorption

Filters models

 The size of the industrial filters to be used will depend directly on the analysis of the water to be treated. Our technical team recommends to provide a complete analysis of the water to manufacture the filter with the appropriate dimensions to achieve the optimum arsenic reduction and absorption values.

Our range of filtration equipment covers diameters up to 1600 mm that can be combined in parallel to reach treatment ranges up to 6000 m3/day by means of compact rack and container installations.

The equipment included in the IMA water arsenic filters are:

• Industrial filters with manual or automatic valve front.
• Filter media for arsenic removal from water
• Discharge outlet to replace the filter media for larger size filters
• Steel profiles to support the mounted equipment.
• Optional: Automatic PH regulation system to control arsenic absorption levels if required by water analysis.

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