AWWA JAW66309

Water utilities need cost-effective technologies in order to meet the US Environmental Protection Agency's new maximum contaminant level for arsenic. It has been demonstrated that iron oxide-coated sand is an effective adsorbent material for the removal of arsenic and other metals and metalloids from drinking water and wastewater. Fibrous materials offer higher specific surface area than granular materials and thus were evaluated for retaining iron-oxide. Four types of fibrous materials - polypropylene, polyester, fiberglass, and cellulose - were evaluated for their ability to retain iron coatings and to remove arsenate. Sand was also evaluated to provide a basis for comparison with previous research. In isotherm experiments, all four fibrous materials showed higher arsenate adsorption densities than iron oxide-coated sand. Arsenate adsorption densities were highest for iron oxide-coated fiberglass and cellulose, suggesting that these fibrous materials may offer advantages over iron oxide-coated sand. Includes 71 references, tables, figures.