Electrochemistry and Catalysis Research Laboratory (ECRL), Department of Chemistry, School of Physical Sciences, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh.
Department of Business Administration, College of Business Administration, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia.
J Environ Manage. 2023 Dec 15;348:119381. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119381. Epub 2023 Oct 19.
World's highest arsenic (As) contamination is well-documented for the groundwater system of southwestern region (mainly Jashore district) of Bangladesh, where the majority of inhabitants are underprivileged. To mitigate As poisoning in southwestern Bangladesh, numerous steps have been taken so far by the government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Among them, digging deep tube wells and As removal by naturally deposited Fe(OH) species are being widely practiced in the contaminated areas. However, these actions have been left unmonitored for decades, making people unaware of this naturally occurring deadly poison in their drinking water. Hence, water samples (n = 63, both treated and untreated) and soil samples (n = 4) were collected from different spots in Jashore district to assess the safety level of drinking water and to understand the probable reasons for high As(III) contamination. About 93.7% of samples were found to contain As(III) above 10 μg/L; among them, 38% contained above 50 μg/L. The study shows that current As(III) removal strategies in the study area are ineffective. In this connection, a simple low-cost As(III) removal adsorbent is proposed that can be prepared with very cheap and locally available materials like iron sludge and charcoal. The adsorbent was characterized in terms of SEM, EDX, and XPS. The optimal dosage of the adsorbent was investigated for real-life application concerning several vital water quality parameters. The Fe-C adsorbent exhibited a maximum As(III) removal efficiency of 92% in real groundwater samples. The study will allow policymakers for informed decision-making regarding water body management as well as enable the local people to avail As-safe water in a way that aligns with their economic factors.
世界上砷（As）污染最严重的地区是孟加拉国西南部地区（主要是杰索尔区）的地下水系统，那里的大多数居民都处于贫困之中。为了减轻孟加拉国西南部的砷中毒，政府和非政府组织（NGO）迄今采取了许多措施。其中，在受污染地区广泛采用深挖管井和自然沉积的 Fe(OH) 去除砷的方法。然而，这些措施已经被忽视了几十年，人们不知道饮用水中存在这种天然致命毒物。因此，从杰索尔区的不同地点采集了 63 个水样（处理和未处理的）和 4 个土壤样本，以评估饮用水的安全水平，并了解高砷（III）污染的可能原因。约 93.7%的样本中砷（III）含量高于 10μg/L；其中 38%的样本中砷（III）含量高于 50μg/L。研究表明，研究区域当前的砷（III）去除策略无效。在这方面，提出了一种简单的低成本砷（III）去除吸附剂，可以用非常便宜且当地可用的材料（如铁泥和木炭）制备。对吸附剂进行了 SEM、EDX 和 XPS 分析。针对实际应用中的几个重要水质参数，研究了吸附剂的最佳用量。在实际地下水中，Fe-C 吸附剂的最大砷（III）去除效率为 92%。该研究将使决策者能够在水体重管理方面做出明智的决策，并使当地人民能够以符合其经济因素的方式获得安全的饮用水。
