A review of in-situ remediation of arsenic in an aquifer

ABSTRACT

Many communities around the world rely heavily on groundwater for drinking, cooking, washing and irrigation. Sadly, continuing unfettered pumping and withdrawal of groundwater from Pleistocene aquifers have risked high-arsenic groundwater being drawn from adjacent upper Holocene aquifers. Experts have warned that arsenic pollution (particularly of As^III species) in groundwater poses serious health hazards in several countries where millions of people drink and use arsenic-contaminated water. Due to arsenic-related health concerns in many parts of the world, there is a realization of the need to find solutions for remediating contaminated aquifers and/or groundwater including methods to stabilize arsenic in the soils and rocks. In light of this, a review is undertaken in this paper of the in-situ treatment technologies being investigated to remove arsenic from groundwater, in both laboratory and field settings. Discussion and analysis of the main categories of in-situ treatment methods include (1) passive reactive barriers (PRB) with removal techniques involving surface precipitation and sorption, chemical reactions and reactions with biological mechanisms, (2) chemical oxidation by delivering iron salts and oxidants into aquifers, (3) injection of adsorbent, (4) biological treatment, and (5) artificial recharge. Materials used for PRB technique studies, reactants used for oxidation techniques and parameters influencing the efficiency of the remediation using artificial recharge are also summarized.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• PRB
• oxidation
• adsorbent
• bioremediation
• artificial recharge

Acknowledgments

This work was carried out within the framework of the PAI (Pack Ambition International) project no 19-008071 funded by the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region (France).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

‘The data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.'

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Region (France).

Notes on contributors

Mariem Kacem

Dr. Mariem Kacem has been a vice dean and head of academic affairs since 2021 at Centrale Pékin, Beihang University (Beijing, China). In 2001, she graduated with a master's degree in chemistry from the Faculty of Sciences of Tunis (Tunisia). After conducting research at IMT-Albi-Carmaux (France), she went on to earn her Master 2 and PhD in engineering sciences from the University of Perpignan in 2005. She worked as an assistant professor at ENSIACET-INP Toulouse, completed a post-doctoral program at LEMTA-ENSEM-INP Lorraine in Nancy, and served as the co-head of the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master at IMT Atlantique-Nantes before joining ENISE as associate professor in 2008. She earned her accreditation to supervise research in 2017 from Jean-Monnet University. His research area is transport and transfer in porous media applied to (1) soil and water table contamination (heavy metals and organic contamination), multiphase extraction, microparticles transport on soil, (2) CO2 capture and storage, and (3) civil engineer waste recovery and reuse.

Chin Leo

Professor Chin Leo received his education at the University of Adelaide (BEng), University of Queensland (MEngSc) University of Sydney. He obtained his PhD in 1994 from the University of Sydney and is currently a professor at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. He has professional experience working in infrastructure and geotechnical engineering projects, including soil investigation, slope stability analysis and geotechnical issues of soft soils. Early in his research career, he studied groundwater and contamination problems in soils. During this period, he developed several numerical models for contaminant migration in porous media. Since the early 2000s, he has been involved in poromechanics research dealing with consolidation, sedimentation-consolidation of soft soils, tunnel closure, and vibrations of piles and foundations embedded in porous media.

Ataur Rahman

Professor Ataur Rahman is an expert in water engineering. He obtained his BEng (Civil) from Khulna University of Engineering and Technology (KUET) in 1982, a Master's in hydrology from the National University of Ireland in 1990 and a PhD from Monash University, Australia in 1997. He worked at Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Bangladesh Water Development Board, Sinclair Knight Merz, CRC for Catchment Hydrology and Queensland University of Technology before joining the University of Western Sydney in 2002 as a lecturer. Its research area includes hydrology, floods, water-sensitive urban design, water quality, climate change, rainwater harvesting, pollutant build up and wash off. He co-developed the ARR RFFE Model, which is widely used for design flood estimation in Australia as a part of the new Australian Rainfall and Runoff (the national guide). He is the founder and chair of GCSTMR (Global Circle for Scientific, Technological and Management Research), which has organized numerous conferences around the globe. He is serving as the Co-chair of the Water Education and Research Committee of the Australian Water Association.