U(VI) mitigation via forward osmosis: Elucidation of retention mechanisms and co-ion effects.

Uranium (U) is a chemical and radioactive toxic contaminant affecting many groundwater systems. The focus of this study was to evaluate the suitability of forward osmosis (FO) for uranium rejection from contaminated groundwater under field-relevant conditions. Laboratory experiments with aqueous solution containing uranium were performed with FO membrane to understand the uranium rejection mechanism under varied pH, draw solution concentration, and presence of co-ions. Further, experiments were performed with U-contaminated field groundwater. Results of the hydrogeochemcial modelling using PHREEQC indicated that the rejection mechanism of uranium was highly dependent on aqueous speciation. Uranium rejection was maximum at alkaline pH with ca. 99% rejection due to charge-based interactions between membrane and dominant uranyl complexes. The results of the co-ion study indicated that nitrate and phosphate ions decrease uranium rejection. Whereas, bicarbonates, calcium, and magnesium ions concentrated uranium in feed solution. Further, the uranium adsorption onto the membrane surface primarily depended on pH of the aqueous solution with maximum adsorption at pH 5.5. Our results show that the World Health Organization's drinking water guideline value of 30 µgL-1 for U could be achieved via FO process in field groundwater containing low dissolved solids.

Water security and health risk assessment of an urban household-level drinking water and sanitation system, Punjab, India.

The water scarcity and deteriorating water quality are major issues of concern to the agrarian state of Punjab, India. The focus of the study is to assess the status of drinking water and sanitation systems of Punjab using an exhaustive dataset of 1575 drinking water samples from 433 sampling locations in 63 urban local bodies of Punjab. Water security index (WSI) indicate that out of 63 urban local bodies, 13 are categorized into good class, 31 fall under fair class, and 19 fall under poor class. The access indicator under sanitation dimension shows that Bathinda region has maximum sewerage network coverage relative to other regions, whereas ca. 50% of the ULBs in Amritsar region do not have sewerage facility. It is clearly depicted that the variation in WSI is mainly attributable to sanitation dimension (10-22.5) as variation in water supply dimension (29-35) is relatively less. Hence, emphasis on indicators and variables of sanitation dimension is required for the improvement of overall WSI. The assessment of qualitative aspects of drinking water and health risk depicts that the drinking water quality of southwest part of the state (i.e. Malwa region) is under good quality class contrary to its poor groundwater quality. Kapurthala district shows high health risk due to the presence of trace metals despite being classified into good class within water security index. The drinking water quality is better and health risks are minimal in regions where drinking water is supplied via treated surface water sources (e.g. Bathinda region). Furthermore, the results of health risk assessment correlate with M[Formula: see text]-Water Quality Index outcome owing to presence of trace metals in groundwater above permissible limits. These results will help in identification of shortcomings in water supply and sanitation infrastructure and its management in urban areas.

An Assessment of U(VI) removal from groundwater using biochar produced from hydrothermal carbonization.

The ever-increasing growth of biorefineries is expected to produce huge amounts of lignocellulosic biochar as a byproduct. The hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) process to produce biochar from lignocellulosic biomass is getting more attention due to its inherent advantage of using wet biomass. In the present study, biochar was produced from switchgrass at 300 °C in subcritical water and characterized using X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy, scanning electron micrcoscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. The physiochemical properties indicated that biochar could serve as an excellent adsorbent to remove uranium from groundwater. A batch adsorption experiment at the natural pH (~3.9) of biochar indicated an H-type isotherm. The adsorption data was fitted using a Langmuir isotherm model and the sorption capacity was estimated to be ca. 2.12 mg of U g(-1) of biochar. The adsorption process was highly dependent on the pH of the system. An increase towards circumneutral pH resulted in the maximum adsorption of ca. 4 mg U g(-1) of biochar. The adsorption mechanism of U(VI) onto biochar was strongly related to its pH-dependent aqueous speciation. The results of the column study indicate that biochar could be used as an effective adsorbent for U(VI), as a reactive barrier medium. Overall, the biochar produced via HTC is environmentally benign, carbon neutral, and efficient in removing U(VI) from groundwater.