Remediation of High Arsenic Aquifers by Learning from the Nature

Almost 20 years’ multi-disciplinary study on geogenic high arsenic (As) groundwater systems in China has greatly improved our understanding of the major processes controlling hydrogeochemical behavior of As in the subsurface environment. Among them, sorption by Fe(III) oxide/hydroxides was found to be one of the dominant processes retaining As in the aquifer matrix. Managed Aquifer Rehabilitation (MAR) by enhancing Fe(II) oxidation to promote As sorption was proposed and tested in a pilot-scale field experiment. Periodical injection of Fe(II) and ClO⁻ into a high As sandy aquifer triggered formation of new Fe(III) (hydr)oxides coating on sediment particles via advanced heterogeneous oxidation of Fe(II) and concurrent oxidative adsorption of As(III) via co-precipitation and surface complexation with Fe(III) (hydr)oxides. Monitoring results indicate that aqueous As concentration decreased from the initial average value of 78.0 μg/L to 9.8 μg/L over the 25-day amendment period and leveled off below 10 μg/L for the following 30 days. MAR is thus proved to be a cost-effective approach for remediating high As aquifers.