An integrated active biochar filter and capacitive deionization system for high-performance removal of arsenic from groundwater

An integrated process of filtration and electrosorption was first applied to enable high-performance arsenic removal for groundwater remediation. An active manganese dioxide-rice husk biochar composite (active BC) filter was utilized for oxidization of As(III) to As(V) and initial removal of As(III, V). Subsequently, electrosorption by capacitive deionization (CDI) was applied as a posttreatment to improve arsenic removal. The active BC approach exhibited fast removal rates of 0.75 and 0.63 g mg-1 h-1 and high maximum removal capacities of 40.76 and 48.15 mg g-1 for As(III) and As(V), respectively. Importantly, column experiments demonstrated that the arsenic removal capacity in the active BC filter was 2.88 mg g-1, which was 72 times higher than that of BC. The results were due to the high efficiency (94%) of redox transformation of As(III) to As(V). The electrosorptive removal of arsenic was further controlled by changing the voltage in CDI. With a charging step of 1.2 V, the total arsenic concentration can be reduced to 0.001 mg L-1 with a low energy consumption of 0.0066 kW h m- 3. Furthermore, the integrated system can remove As from real groundwater to achieve the World Health Organization guideline value for drinking water quality.

Automated summary

For the first time, a combination of filtration and electrosorption processes was used to achieve high-efficiency arsenic removal for groundwater remediation. The use of an active BC filter and CDI as a posttreatment resulted in fast and efficient removal of arsenic.