Removal of As(V), Cr(VI) and Cu(II) using novel amine functionalized composite nanofiltration membranes fabricated on ceramic tubular substrate.

Novel amine functionalized composite membranes were prepared over tubular ceramic substrate using facile dip-coating and cross-flow filtration approach. The two fabricated membranes, P-60S and P-60S-EDTA with polyethyleneimine (PEI) and EDTA-modified PEI as functional layers respectively, were characterized in terms of EDX, FTIR, XPS, FESEM, AFM and contact angle analyses which confirmed their stable physical and chemical structure for use in high pressure application. Clean water permeability and MWCO study revealed the superior permeability and rejection efficiency of the P-60S-EDTA compared to the P-60S membrane. Incorporation of bulky EDTA molecules in the membrane functional layer simultaneously decreased pore size and increased membrane hydrophilicity. The removal of As(V), Cr(VI) and Cu(II) heavy metals by both membranes were found to be highly pH dependent and overall rejection improved in case of P-60S-EDTA membrane [99.82% for Cu(II), 96.75% for As(V) and 97.22% for Cr(VI)]. Interestingly, rejection of As(V) and Cr(VI) was significantly improved in presence of Cu(II) due to volume resistance provided by EDTA-Cu(II) complex towards the passage of other heavy metal ions. Excellent stability of P-60S-EDTA membrane in continuous operation of 36 h in both ideal and practical water environment suggests its promising application in real field heavy metal contaminated waste water treatment.

Shallow hydrostratigraphy in an arsenic affected region of Bengal Basin: implication for targeting safe aquifers for drinking water supply.

To delineate arsenic (As) safe aquifer(s) within shallow depth, the present study has investigated the shallow hydrostratigraphic framework over an area of 100 km(2) at Chakdaha Block of Nadia District, West Bengal. Drilling of 29 boreholes and subsequent hydrostratigraphic modeling has identified three types of aquifer within 50 m below ground level (bgl). Aquifer-1 represents a thick paleochannel sequence, deposited parallel to the River Hooghly and Ichamati. Aquifer-2 is formed locally within the overbank deposits in the central floodplain area and its vertical extension is strictly limited to 25 m bgl. Aquifer-3 is distributed underneath the overbank deposits and represents an interfluvial aquifer of the area. Aquifer-3 is of Pleistocene age (~70 ka), while aquifer-1 and 2 represent the Holocene deposits (age <9.51 ka), indicating that there was a major hiatus in the sediment deposition after depositing the aquifer-3. Over the area, aquifer-3 is markedly separated from the overlying Holocene deposits by successive upward sequences of brown and olive to pale blue impervious clay layers. The groundwater quality is very much similar in aquifer-1 and 2, where the concentration of As and Fe very commonly exceeds 10 µg/L and 5 mg/L, respectively. Based on similar sediment color, these two aquifers have jointly been designated as the gray sand aquifer (GSA), which constitutes 40% (1.84×10(9) m(3)) of the total drilled volume (4.65×10(9) m(3)). In aquifer-3, the concentration of As and Fe is very low, mostly <2 µg/L and 1mg/L, respectively. This aquifer has been designated as the brown sand aquifer (BSA) according to color of the aquifer materials and represents 10% (4.8×10(8) m(3)) of the total drilled volume. This study further documents that though the concentration of As is very low at BSA, the concentration of Mn often exceeds the drinking water guidelines.

Role of competing ions in the mobilization of arsenic in groundwater of Bengal Basin: insight from surface complexation modeling.

This study assesses the role of competing ions in the mobilization of arsenic (As) by surface complexation modeling of the temporal variability of As in groundwater. The potential use of two different surface complexation models (SCMs), developed for ferrihydrite and goethite, has been explored to account for the temporal variation of As(III) and As(V) concentration, monitored in shallow groundwater of Bengal Basin over a period of 20 months. The SCM for ferrihydrite appears as the better predictor of the observed variation in both As(III) and As(V) concentrations in the study sites. It is estimated that among the competing ions, PO4(3-) is the major competitor of As(III) and As(V) adsorption onto Fe oxyhydroxide, and the competition ability decreases in the order PO4(3-) â‰« Fe(II) > H4SiO4 = HCO3(-). It is further revealed that a small change in pH can also have a significant effect on the mobility of As(III) and As(V) in the aquifers. A decrease in pH increases the concentration of As(III), whereas it decreases the As(V) concentration and vice versa. The present study suggests that the reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxide alone cannot explain the observed high As concentration in groundwater of the Bengal Basin. This study supports the view that the reductive dissolution of Fe oxyhydroxide followed by competitive sorption reactions with the aquifer sediment is the processes responsible for As enrichment in groundwater.

Hydrogeochemical contrast between brown and grey sand aquifers in shallow depth of Bengal Basin: consequences for sustainable drinking water supply.

Delineation of safe aquifer(s) that can be targeted by cheap drilling technology for tubewell (TW) installation becomes highly imperative to ensure access to safe and sustainable drinking water sources for the arsenic (As) affected population in Bengal Basin. This study investigates the potentiality of brown sand aquifers (BSA) as a safe drinking water source by characterizing its hydrogeochemical contrast to grey sand aquifers (GSA) within shallow depth (<70 m) over an area of 100 km(2) in Chakdaha Block of Nadia district, West Bengal, India. The results indicate that despite close similarity in major ion composition, the redox condition is markedly different in groundwater of the two studied aquifers. The redox condition in the BSA is delineated to be Mn oxy-hydroxide reducing, not sufficiently lowered for As mobilization into groundwater. In contrast, the enrichments of NH(4)(+), PO(4)(3-), Fe and As along with lower Eh in groundwater of GSA reflect reductive dissolution of Fe oxy-hydroxide coupled to microbially mediated oxidation of organic matter as the prevailing redox process causing As mobilization into groundwater of this aquifer type. In some portions of GSA the redox status even has reached to the stage of SO(4)(2-) reduction, which to some extent might sequester dissolved As from groundwater by co-precipitation with authigenic pyrite. Despite having low concentration of As in groundwater of the BSA the concentration of Mn often exceeds the drinking water guidelines, which warrants rigorous assessment of attendant health risk for Mn prior to considering mass scale exploitation of the BSA for possible sustainable drinking water supply.

Testing tubewell platform color as a rapid screening tool for arsenic and manganese in drinking water wells.

A low-cost rapid screening tool for arsenic (As) and manganese (Mn) in groundwater is urgently needed to formulate mitigation policies for sustainable drinking water supply. This study attempts to make statistical comparison between tubewell (TW) platform color and the level of As and Mn concentration in groundwater extracted from the respective TW (n = 423), to validate platform color as a screening tool for As and Mn in groundwater. The result shows that a black colored platform with 73% certainty indicates that well water is safe from As, while with 84% certainty a red colored platform indicates that well water is enriched with As, compared to WHO drinking water guideline of 10 µg/L. With this guideline the efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity of the tool are 79%, 77%, and 81%, respectively. However, the certainty values become 93% and 38%, respectively, for black and red colored platforms at 50 µg/L, the drinking water standards for India and Bangladesh. The respective efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity are 65%, 85%, and 59%. Similarly for Mn, black and red colored platform with 78% and 64% certainty, respectively, indicates that well water is either enriched or free from Mn at the Indian national drinking water standard of 300 µg/L. With this guideline the efficiency, sensitivity, and specificity of the tool are 71%, 67%, and 76%, respectively. Thus, this study demonstrates that TW platform color can be potentially used as an initial screening tool for identifying TWs with elevated dissolved As and Mn, to make further rigorous groundwater testing more intensive and implement mitigation options for safe drinking water supplies.