Original Articles: 2014 Vol: 6 Issue: 6
Modification of indigenous rural water filter for arsenic mitigation using different bamboo charcoals
Abstract
Purification of drinking water using charcoal and river sand which is locally known as sand filter (SF) is very common in the rural areas of Assam, but limited research work has been reported on its scientific view points as well as on its modification. The main aim of this piece of work was to test the scientific importance of this indigenous rural water filtration technique and minimization of As problems in underground drinking water using different bamboo charcoals. Removal efficiency of four different bamboo charcoals viz. Bambusa balcooa, Bambusa nutans, Bambusa tulda and Bambusa padilla with river sands of variable grain size distribution was studied. At the pH range of 7.0-7.8 with As concentration in the range of 0.001-1.0 mg/L, removal efficiency of bamboo charcoals of B balcooa, B nutans, B tulda and B padilla were found 69.77, 64.09, 60.38 and 56.24% respectively. The extent of As removal by these bamboo charcoals were found highly pH dependent and also the removal rate decreased with the increase of the initial concentration of As beyond 1 mg/L at pH range 7.0-7.8. Study also revealed that contact time of raw water with modified filtration bed less than 1 hour and more than 2 hours was found to be less effective in As removal from ground water.