Microbial processes and iron-mineral formation in household sand filters used to remove arsenic from drinking water in Vietnam

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Kappler
• Subject Area: Hydrogeology, Hydrology, Limnology, Urban Water Management, Water Chemistry, Integrated Water Resources Management
• Term: from 2011 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 193721657

Arsenic-contaminated ground- and drinking water is a global environmental problem with about 1-2% of the world’s population being affected. The upper drinking water limit for arsenic (10 μg/L) is often exceeded, especially in Asian countries, such as Vietnam. Household sand filters are already used as one very simple and cost-efficient treatment to remove arsenic from water. Oxidation of dissolved iron (Fe(II)) present in the groundwater leads to the formation of sparsely soluble iron(hydr)oxide particles (Fe(III)OOH) in the sand filter, which bind negatively charged arsenic species and reduce arsenic concentrations in the water. Arsenite (As(III); H3AsO3) binds generally less strong to metal oxides than arsenate (As(V); H2AsO4 -/HAsO4 2-), therefore As(V) is removed much more effectively than As(III). This is why As(III) oxidation to As(V) is of special interest for arsenic removal from drinking water. Whether and how the activity of iron- and arsenite-oxidizing bacteria contributes to effective arsenic removal in household sand filters is currently not known. One of the goals of this study therefore is to isolate, identify, and quantify Fe(II)- and As(III)-oxidizing microorganisms from filters and to study their iron and arsenic redox activities. Cultivation-based work will be complemented by molecular, cultivation-independent techniques to characterize and quantify the microbial communities in samples from different filter locations taken at various time points during filter operation (both at field sites and in artificial laboratory filter systems). The isolated iron- and arsenite-oxidizing bacteria will be studied with respect to their abilities to precipitate iron minerals (in the presence or absence of arsenic) and oxidize arsenite. Biogenic and abiogenic iron minerals formed by the isolated strains in the lab, on the sand filter material in Vietnam and in artificial laboratory filter systems will be identified and characterized, also with respect to arsenic sorption. And we will determine how biotic and abiotic processes that contribute to arsenic mobilization from arsenic-loaded iron mineral phases affect filter performance over time. The long-term goal of this research is to better understand the microbial redox transformation processes that drive arsenic/iron mineral interactions in natural and engineered systems, such as household sand filters and to give recommendations for improved filter use and filter material disposal.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Sebastian Felix Behrens