Biogenic Fe(III) minerals lower the efficiency of iron-mineral-based commercial filter systems for arsenic removal

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearch

Millions of people worldwide are affected by As (arsenic) contaminated groundwater. Fe(III) (oxy)hydroxides sorb As efficiently and are therefore used in water purification filters. Commercial filters containing abiogenic Fe(III) (oxy)hydroxides (GEH) showed varying As removal, and it was unclear whether Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria influenced filter efficiency. We found up to 107 Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria/g dry-weight in GEH-filters and determined the performance of filter material in the presence and absence of Fe(II)-oxidizing bacteria. GEH-material sorbed 1.7 mmol As(V)/g Fe and was ∼8 times more efficient than biogenic Fe(III) minerals that sorbed only 208.3 μmol As(V)/g Fe. This was also ∼5 times more efficient than a 10:1-mixture of GEH-material and biogenic Fe(III) minerals that bound 322.6 μmol As(V)/g Fe. Coprecipitation of As(V) with biogenic Fe(III) minerals removed 343.0 μmol As(V)/g Fe, while As removal by coprecipitation with biogenic minerals in the presence of GEH-material was slightly less ...
Original languageEnglish
Book seriesEnvironmental Science and Technology
Pages (from-to)7533-7541
Number of pages9
ISSN1382-3124
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Sep 2011

ID: 347307489