4thInternational Conference on Advances in Civil Engineering 2018 (ICACE 2018)

19 –21 December 2018

CUET, Chittagong, Bangladesh
www.cuet.ac.bd

POTENTIAL OF IRON-COATED JUTE FABRICS TO DECREASE

ARSENIC CONCENTRATION OF GROUNDWATER IN IRRIGATION
CHANNEL

T. Akter*, T. M. Zahid, J. Saha, J. Nayeem&M. A. Ali

Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Dhaka,

Bangladesh.
Email: tanjinurtanju@gmail.com; tahsinzahid786@gmail.com; joyeta_sh@yahoo.com;
jnayeem622@gmail.com; mashrafali88@gmail.com

*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT
In Bangladesh, groundwater from shallow aquifer is widely used to irrigate dry season boro rice. But
shallow aquifers in many regions are highly contaminated with arsenic (As). Reduction of As
concentration of groundwater within irrigation channel could be an effective way to reduce arsenic
loading in rice fields. Results from batch studies suggest that iron oxide coated jute fabrics have
significant capacity to remove arsenic from groundwater. This study focuses on assessment of
removal of arsenic from groundwater under flowing conditions. Experimental channels have been
fabricated using PVC pipes and the channels have been coated with iron oxide coated jute fabrics.
Arrangements have been made for flow of arsenic bearing groundwater from one end of the channel
to the other. Experimental results showed appreciable removal of As within the irrigation channels;
but well below the removal achieved under equilibrium condition in batch experiments. With an
initial As concentration of about 230 g/l, As removal varied from a maximum of about 40% to a
minimum of about 22%. These results suggest that iron-coated jute fabrics have significant potential
of reducing As loading to rice fields in arsenic affected areas of Bangladesh.

Keywords: Arsenic; irrigation water; iron coating; jute fabric.

INTRODUCTION
Bangladesh is an agro-based developing country where agriculture is the mainstay of Bangladesh
economy. Agriculture contributes about 22 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), out of which
rice alone contributes 9.5 percent (BBS, 2008). Mainly three varieties of rice are cultivated in
Bangladesh, which includeAush, Aman and Boro. Among theseBoro (the dry season rice) currently
accounts for about 50 percent of total rice production in the country (BRRI, 2006). Being a dry season
crop,Boro rice requires irrigation. Irrigation water is extracted mainly from shallow aquifers. But in
many regions of Bangladesh, presence of high concentration of arsenic (As) in shallow groundwater
has become a major concern (BGS & DPHE, 2001). Irrigation with arsenic bearing water is increasing
arsenic concentration in agricultural soil, and in rice plants, which in turn is increasing human
exposure to arsenic (Alam and Sattar, 2000; Meharg and Rahman, 2003). Because of lack of other
sources of water for irrigation, reducing arsenic concentration within the irrigation channel can be an
effective way to tackle this problem.
Dissolved As concentrations in flowing water tend to decrease with increasing distance from wells
(Hossain et al., 2008; Roberts et al., 2007). A research conducted by Lineberger et al. (2013) on
arsenic removal from water flowing through irrigation channel, provide evidence that soil-water
contact is essential for arsenic removal and long winding channels can minimize arsenic concentration

36
to some extent. Further studies reveal that lining the distribution channels with physical structures can
promote arsenic reduction from flowing irrigation water and for minimizing cost it can be done by
local materials like jute mesh. This increased removal in amended channels is mainly due to increased
residence time (Polizzotto et al., 2015). Yet significant arsenic removal could not be achieved only by
jute mesh. A study was carried out to check the removal efficiency of ‘iron coated jute fabrics’
through laboratory batch experiments (Ramim et al., 2017). The iron coated jute fabrics have been
found to be very effective in removing both As (III) and As (V) from groundwater, compared to
uncoated fabrics.
The aim of the present study is to determine whether or not significant arsenic removal could be
achieved in flowing condition by using low cost jute-mesh structure, coated with iron oxide, in
artificial channel. This study involves assessment of removal efficiency of As (III) from groundwater,
as arsenite is typically the predominant species in groundwater (Roberts et al., 2007).

METHODOLOGY
Materials: Water used for carrying out experiments in artificial channel for assessing arsenic (As)
removal by iron coated jute fabrics, was natural chlorine free groundwater. Following the study of
Ramim et al. (2017), locally available brown jute fabric was used in this study as it has better
Asremoval capacity compared to white jute fabric. Arsenic Trioxide was used to prepare As (III)
stock solution. Ferric Nitrate, Fe(NO3)3 and Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) solutions were used for
providing iron oxide coating on jute fabrics.
Preparation of jute fabric for coating: The jute fabrics were cut into pieces of 5”x12”. After cutting
the jute fabrics, they were thoroughly washed with distilled water to get rid of any foreign material on
their surface and then dried at room temperature. In the present study, the method reported by Ramim
et al. (2017) has been used for providing iron oxide coating on jute fabric.
At first two pieces of jute fabrics were taken in a tray. Next 400 ml of prepared 0.25M Fe(NO3)3
solution was poured into the tray to soak the jute fabrics. Then the iron was precipitated by
neutralization with the addition of 25 ml of prepared 10M NaOH solution and adjusting the pH to
about 10.0. In this study, the coated jute fabrics were dried at room temperature for one week. During
this one week, the coated jute fabrics were flipped on the other side after 3/4 days. After drying, the
fabrics were washed with distilled water in a beaker to remove any loose iron particles from the
fabric. Then these were kept at room temperature for further drying.
Assessment of As removal from flowing groundwater: In laboratory, experimental channels have
been fabricated using PVC pipes, having a length of 4 feet and inside diameter of 3 inch. These pipes
were cut through the middle to replicate the irrigation channels. Concrete blocks were used to keep
the pipe in position. Arrangements have been made for flow of arsenic bearing groundwater from one
end of the channel to the other, and also for collection of samples at the terminal end of the channel.
Experiments were carried out under the following conditions: (1) Removal of As in irrigation channel
lined with iron oxide coated jute fabric, as a function of time, for a particular flow rate; (2) Removal
of As in irrigation channel lined with iron oxide coated jute fabric, as a function of time, for different
flow rates; and (3) Removal of As in irrigation channel lined with uncoated jute fabrics at a particular
flow rate.
The experimental procedures for all of the conditions were same. In all cases four pieces of 5”x12”
jute fabrics were used to line the artificial channel completely. Groundwater spiked with As (III) (at a
concentration of about 300 ppb) was discharged to the channel at a specific flow rate, with the help of
a pump. After the channel was completely filled, the flow started and samples were collected at
definite time intervals.
For the first experimental condition mentioned above, the flow rate was kept around 280 ml/min with
a corresponding residence time of 10 minutes. The arsenic bearing groundwater was allowed to fall on
the artificial channel lined with iron coated jute at a rate of 280 ml/min. After about 9.5 minutes the
channel was filled and the flow started. The first sample was collected at the end of the channel in a
100 ml beaker, 5 minutes after start of flow. The experiment was continued for about 1 hour and a
total of 10 samples were collected at 5 minutes interval. A second raw sample was collected around
halfway of the flow (in this case at approximately after 35 min) and pH of the sample was measured.
At the end of the experiment, the final raw sample was collected and the final pH at the outlet was
also recorded. The same jute fabric lined channel was used to repeat the whole procedure two more

37
times at a similar flow rate. All collected sampleswere analyzed for arsenic concentration using an
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS, Shimadzu, AA 6800).
Subsequently, the same fabric coated channel was used to conduct a similar experiment, but this time
with a decreased flow rate of 130 ml/min with a corresponding residence time of 20 minutes. The
channel was filled after about 20 minutes and the duration of the experiment was about 70 minutes. A
total of 10 samples were collected at the outlet of the channel at 5 min interval and were analyzed for
pH and As concentration.
Another set of experiment was carried out in an artificial channel lined with uncoated jute fabrics,
through which As bearing groundwater was passed at a flow rate of around 280 ml/min. As before,
water samples were collected at the channel outlet at an interval of 5 minutes, and were analyzed for
As and pH.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

The first four sets of experimentswere carried out over a period of four days using the same artificial
channel covered with one set of iron coated jute fabric. Each day, experiment was conducted for a
period of about 1 hour. The flow rate of arsenic bearing (179 to 256 ppb) water was kept at about 280
ml/min (270 to 285 ml/min) (corresponding residence time of about 9.5-10.5 minutes) during the first
three days. On the fourth day, the flow rate was reduced to about half at 130 ml/min (corresponding
residence time about 20 minutes), in order to assess the effect of flow rate/contact time on removal.
Arsenic removal on Day 1:Fig. 1 shows concentration of arsenic as a function of time for water
samples collected at the outlet of the artificial channel. In this experiment, initial arsenic concentration
was about 232 ppb.Arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet varied from 139 to 181 ppb,
corresponding to removal of 40.1% and 22.0% (of 232 ppb), respectively. Arsenic removal appears to
decrease slightly with time. The pH of the water sample did not change significantly during the
experiment; pH varied from 7.0 to 7.2.
Arsenic removal on Day 2:The concentration of arsenic as a function of time for water samples
collected at the outlet of the artificial channel is showed in Fig. 2. In this experiment, average arsenic
concentration was about 237 ppb. Fig. 2 shows that arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet
varied from 176 to 208 ppb, corresponding to removal of 25.7% and 12.2% (of 237 ppb), respectively.
Arsenic removal appears to decrease slightly with time. Comparison of Fig. 1 and 2 suggests that
arsenic removal decreased to some extent on day 2. As before, the pH of the water sample did not
change significantly during the experiment; initial pH was 7.2, which increased to 7.6 at the end of the
experiment.

250 300

250
Concentration (ppb)
Concentration (ppb)

200
200
150
Raw 1
150
100 Samples after
Raw 100 passing
50 Raw 2
Samples after 50
passing Raw Average
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Time (min) Time (min)

Fig. 1: As concentration in water at channel Fig. 2: As concentration in water at channel

outlet as a function of time on day 1 of outlet as a function of time on day 2 of
experiment experiment
Arsenic removal on Day 3:Fig.3 shows concentration of arsenic as a function of time for water
samples collected at the outlet of the artificial channel. Average initial arsenic concentration was
about 198 ppb in this experiment (lower than the initial arsenic concentration on the first two days).

38
Fig.3 shows that arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet varied from 169 to 175 ppb,
corresponding to removal of 14.6% and 11.6% (of 198 ppb), respectively. Arsenic removal appears to
decrease slightly with time. Comparison of Fig. 1, 2 and 3 suggests that arsenic removal gradually
decreased with time. The pH of the water sample varied from an initial concentration of 6.9 to 8.0 at
the end of the experiment.

250
Day 1
60
200
Concentration (ppb)

Day 2

Percent removal (%)

150 Day 3
40

100 Samples aftetrpassing

Raw 1
20
50 Raw 2
Rawv3
Raw average
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Time (min) Time (min)

Fig.3: As concentration in water at channel Fig. 4: Percent removal of arsenic within

outlet as a function of time on day 3 of artificial channel during the 3 days of
experiment. experiment
Comparison of arsenic removal on different days:The percent removals of arsenic within the
artificial channel during the three days of experiment are shown in Fig. 4. It shows that removal of
arsenic in the channel decreased with time under similar experimental condition.On day-1, arsenic
removal (with initial As of 232 ppb) varied from 22% to 40.1%. On day-2, for an initial concentration
of 237 ppb, removal achieved varied from 12.2% to 25.7%. Finally, on day-3, for the initial As of 198
ppb, 11.6% to 14.6% arsenic was removed. Thus, it is evident that the removal of Asdecreased with
time throughout the experimental period.This is most likely due to the gradually reducing adsorption
capacity of jute fabrics with time, as adsorption progresses. This indicates that arsenic removal
capacity of jute fabric reduces considerably with time.
Effect of flow rate on arsenic removal in artificial channel:In order to assess effect of flow rate on
arsenic removal, one set of experiment was carried out on Day-4 with the same set up, where flow
rate was reduced to 130 ml/min, about half of the flow rate used during the first three days of
experiment. During the first three days of experiment, the residence or contact time was 9.5 min to
10.5 min; whereas in this experiment, residence/contact time was about 20 min.
Fig. 5 shows arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet at different times. The average initial
arsenic concentration was 232 ppb. Fig.5 shows that arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet
varied from 198 to 219 ppb, corresponding to removal of 14.7% and 5.6%, respectively. In this case
also, arsenic removal appears to decrease slightly with time.
Fig.6 shows a comparison of arsenic removal on Day-3 and Day-4. As shown in Fig.4, arsenic
removal decreases with passage of time; arsenic removal on Day-3 was significantly lower than
arsenic removal achieved in the artificial channel on Day-1. Following this trend, one would expect an
even lower removal of arsenic on Day-4, under similar condition. However, Fig. 6 shows that arsenic
removal on Day-4 (at a flow rate of 130 ml/min) is almost same as that achieved on Day-3 (at a flow
rate of about 280 ml/min). This is due to significantly lower flow rate used in experiment on Day-4. It
shows that flow rate (or contact time) has a significant effect on arsenic removal in the jute fabric
coated channel. When the velocity of flowing water is low, it gets longer contact time with the iron
coated jute fabric; longer contact time results in more removal of arsenic.

39
Removal of arsenic in channel lined with un-coated jute fabric: As noted above, one set of
experiment was carried out where the artificial channel was lined with uncoated jute fabric. In this set
of experiment, the flow rate was maintained at 285 ml/min, and initial arsenic concentration was 259
ppb. Fig. 7 shows arsenic concentration in water at channel outlet as a function of time. It shows not
very significant removal of arsenic from water. The arsenic concentration in the channel outlet water
varied from 204 to 239 ppb, corresponding to removal of 21.2% and 7.7%, respectively. Fig.8 shows
comparison of arsenic removal by coated and uncoated jute fabrics.Both iron coated and uncoated jute
fabric can remove arsenic from groundwater. It is observed in Fig.8 that 22.0% - 40.1% (initial As
232 ppb) arsenic was removed using iron coated jute fabric, whereas only 7.7% - 21.2% arsenic
(initial As 259 ppb) was removed using uncoated jute fabric. So it can be said that iron coating
significantly increases arsenic removal capacity of jute fabric.

300 80
Day 3
250

Percent removal (%)

Concentration (ppb)

60 Day 4
200

150 Raw 1 40
Samples after passing
100
Raw 2 20
50 Raw 3
Raw average
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
Time (min) Time (min)

Fig. 5: As concentration in water at channel Fig. 6: Percent removal of arsenic in artificial

outlet as a function of time on day 4 of channel on day-3 at a flow rate of 270 ml/min,
experiment, carried out at a slower flow rate of and on day-4 at 130 ml/min.
130 ml/min.

300 70
Coated (Day 1)
250 60
Percent removal (%)

Uncoated
50
200
Concentration (ppb)

40
150
Raw 1 30
100 Samples after passing
Raw2 20
50 Raw3 10
Raw average
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 20 40 60 80
TIme (min) Time (min)

Fig. 7: As concentration in water at channel Figure 4.8: Percent removal of arsenic within
outlet as a function of time using un-coated artificial channel using iron coated jute fabric
jute fabric. and uncoated jute fabric

CONCLUSIONS

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The study assesses the effectiveness of iron coated jute fabric in removing arsenic from groundwater
flowing through an artificial channel. It was found that while iron oxide coated jute fabric can
removeappreciable amount of As from flowing groundwater (compared to uncoated fabric), capacity
of the coated fabrics decreases with time. This study also suggests that flow rate through the channel
can significantly affect As removal; lower flow rate (and higher contact time) promotes higher
removal. Arsenic removal achieved in artificial channel lined with iron oxide coated jute fabrics
appears to be much lower than those achieved in batch experiments reported in Ramim et al. (2017),
where a contact time of 30 minutes was allowed for equilibration, and the water and jute fabrics were
constantly mixed with a stirrer. The removal of arsenic in channel appears to be limited by kinetics of
adsorption (mixing and contact time). Thus, more work is needed to assess kinetics of arsenic
adsorption, and to devise ways to enhance removal of As in irrigation channel.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors would like to express appreciation to Bangladesh University of Engineering and
Technology for supporting the research work.

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