Waterwright
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Arsenic is found in wastewater from electronic manufactures
making gallium arsenide wafers and electronic devices.
It also can be found in silicon semiconductor operations that use high
dose arsenic implants. Other
sources of arsenic are ground water in agricultural areas where arsenic was once
used as an insecticide.
Arsenic can not be treated to regulated levels by pH adjustment and precipitation. It is most often treated by precipitating ferric arsenate. In this method, arsenic is oxidized by the addition of ferric ion and sodium hypochlorite at a pH of 2.5 to 3.5. The pH is then raised to 7 to 8 and ferric arsenate is precipitated along with excess ferric ion. This method has been demonstrated to less than 0.1 ug/l. Caution must be taken to maintain the pH between 7 and 8 or the arsenic concentration will rise.
Another method of treating arsenic is to precipitate it as the sulfide. Care must be taken in using this method since the sulfide can reduce the arsenic to AsH3 and form deadly arsine gas. If this method is used a second precipitation with ferrous ion is required to remove the residual sulfide and aid in flocculation and settling.
Low levels of arsenic a can be reduced to arsenic metal by the use of a reducing agent. Again care must be taken to prevent the formation of arsine.
Arsenate can also be polished to low levels, less than 10 ug/l with activated alumina or cation resin, which has been spent with ferric ion. Normal ion exchange resins are ineffective at removing arsenic.
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