Low-cost technologies for arsenic removal in the Chaco-Pampean Plain, Argentina

Groundwater of the Chaco-Pampean plain of Argentina contains levels of arsenic (As) exceeding drinking water standards. The situation is more serious in rural areas, causing a high incidence of CERHA (Chronic Endemic Regional Hydroarsenicism). Results of treatment experiments involving either heterogeneous photocatalysis (HP) or zerovalent iron (ZVI) in plastic bottles to remove As from groundwater are presented as low-cost technologies to remove As. For HP tests, synthetic or natural samples containing As placed in bottles impregnated with a TiO2 layer and exposed to solar or artificial UV light followed by an addition of iron resulted in As concentration well below drinking water standards. For ZVI tests, iron wool was shown to be a better iron source than packing wire for As removal. Solar irradiation, in synthetic as well as in natural samples, improves As removal, avoiding the use of high amounts of iron