Arsenic and Fluoride Removal from Contaminated Drinking Water with Haix-Fe-Zr and Haix-Zr Resin Beads

The objective of the study was to carry-out batch tests to examine the effectiveness of Haix-Fe-Zr and Haix-Zr resin beads in the removal of As(III), As(V) and F- from groundwater with a similar geochemistry to a site where a community-based drinking water plant has been installed in West Bengal, India. The groundwater was spiked separately with ~200g/L As(III) and As(V) and 5mg/L F-. Haix-Zr resin beads were more effective than Haix-Fe-Zr resin beads in removing As(III) and As(V). Haix-Zr resin beads showed higher removal of As(V) compared to As(III). Haix-Zr resin beads removed As(V) below the WHO (10g/L) drinking water standards at 8.79g/L after 4 hours of shaking, while As(III) was reduced to 7.72g/L after 8 hours of shaking. Haix-Fe-Zr resin beads were more effective in removing F- from the spiked groundwater compared to Haix-Zr resin beads. Concentrations of F- decreased from 6.27mg/L to 1.26mg/L, which is below the WHO drinking water standards (1.5mg/L) for F-, after 15 minutes of shaking with Haix-Fe-Zr resin beads. After 20 minutes of shaking in groundwater treated with Haix-Zr resin beads, F- concentrations decreased from 6.27mg/L to 1.43mg/L. In the removal of As(III), As(V), and F- from the groundwater, Haix-Fe-Zr and Haix-Zr resin beads fit the parabolic diffusion equation (PDE) suggesting that adsorption of these contaminants was consistent with inter-particle diffusion.