Easy and low-cost technology filter for the removal of arsenic and fluoride from water

Abstract

Chronic exposure to arsenic (As) favors the development of human diseases such as hydroarsenicism, hypertension and cancer, especially of the skin, lung and bladder. Likewise, fluorine (F) produces skeletal and dental fluorosis.
Since 2006 the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a maximum concentration of As in drinking water of 0.01 mg/L, while in Argentina the value is still under study accepting 0.05 mg/L (although the Argentine Food Code (CAA) indicates 0.01 mg/L). The maximum concentration of F recommended by the WHO is 1.5 mg/L, while CAA regulates it according to the average temperature of the region.

Data for this work was gathered from scattered farmhouses in the forest around San José de Boquerón (Santiago del Estero). The area lacks basic services such as electricity or drinking water. Its inhabitants consume well water contaminated with As and F.
The aim of this work is to provide a solution, through the development and implementation of a sustainable filter with inexpensive materials, that allows reducing As and F in drinking water.
The proposed filter consists of 4 plastic buckets of 20 L, 1 Kg of nails, sand, charcoal-wood and pebbles. After filtering the contaminated water with the system, concentrations of: As between 0.025-0.05 mg/L and F between 0.73-0.98 mg/L, initially containing 0.25 and 3.1 mg/L, respectively, were quantified. Thus, it was possible to treat 140 L (in 7 batches) of water suitable for consumption. The need for accompaniment was evident during the implementation of the device in the area.