Removal of arsenic by solar oxidation from groundwater in the town of Cruz de Medano, Lambayeque

Authors

Ramos Dávila, Bryan Rubens

Flores, Juan Carlos

Abstract

Groundwater for human consumption with high arsenic concentrations is considered a public health problem. This problem occurs in the town of Cruz de Medano, district of Mórrope - Lambayeque, since they lack drinking water and instead use groundwater, which is extracted from wells, which is why the objective of this research focused on calculating the removal of arsenic by solar oxidation of groundwater in that place, using steel wool, citric acid and time to solar exposure. The experimental part was carried out in the same town center, finding an initial concentration of 0.1154 mg As/L in the groundwater, after which 8 treatments were carried out, each containing one liter of water to be treated, and different amounts and concentrations of the variables indicated for reduction were added. The treated samples were preserved and then sent for the respective analysis to the accredited laboratory, achieving a 97.11% reduction of the initial arsenic, where it is concluded that the proposed method complies as an alternative that can be applied for the decontamination of water for human consumption in areas with the same problem.