Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IIT-G) researchers have developed a low-cost water treatment technology capable of removing arsenic and fluoride simultaneously from contaminated groundwater. The technology, which uses a rotating-anode electrocoagulation (RA-EC) reactor, has shown promising results with up to 98.2 percent arsenate and 91.8 percent fluoride removal within minutes.
According to the researchers, the technology could be a vital contribution towards ensuring safer and affordable drinking water in regions affected by naturally-occurring groundwater pollution. The initial demonstration was performed at an estimated operating cost of Rs 18 to Rs 58 per 1,000 litres of treated water, depending on contaminant concentration.
The findings of the research, published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, suggest that the technology could support a wide range of applications, including community drinking-water purification, decentralised rural water-treatment systems, treatment of arsenic and fluoride-contaminated groundwater, industrial wastewater remediation and integration with other advanced treatment processes such as adsorption and membrane filtration.
Prof Mihir K. Purkait from the department of chemical engineering, IIT Guwahati, highlighted the need for such research, stating that groundwater serves as the primary source of drinking water for millions of people across India, but in several regions, it contains both arsenic and fluoride, posing significant long-term health risks. The researchers developed a faster and more efficient reactor configuration capable of simultaneously removing both arsenic and fluoride.
The technology uses a rotating aluminium anode that continuously improves mixing inside the reactor, enhances mass transfer, renews the electrode surface, and promotes the formation of pollutant-capturing aluminium hydroxide flocs. The next phase of the research will focus on developing a pilot-scale continuous-flow version of the reactor suitable for practical deployment.
Future studies will also incorporate sensor-based automated process control for real-time monitoring of parameters such as pH, conductivity, electrical current and rotational speed, bringing the technology closer to scalable field implementation.
