Engineering application of activated alumina adsorption dams for emergency treatment of arsenic-contaminated rivers

A batch of lab-based adsorption experiments were performed to investigate the arsenic (As) removal efficacy by activated alumina. Four factors including contact time, pH, initial As concentration and different coexisting ions were examined. The adsorbent made of activated alumina (AA) with particles of 2-4 mm diameter showed a high As removal efficiency and the As concentrations of the samples were below 0.05 mg/L when the hydraulic retention time (HRT) was operated above 5 min. The As concentrations of the samples could remain below 0.05 mg/L for 30 days. A series of AA adsorption dams coupled with several other supporting adsorption techniques were employed for As-contaminated river restoration. The engineering project functioned well, and the effluent As concentration was below 0.05 mg/L when the influent was between 0.2 and 0.7 mg/L, which met the discharge requirement of the Surface Water Quality Standards criteria III in China. The results demonstrated that AA adsorption dams could be applied for emergency treatments of small- or medium-sized rivers contaminated with As.