A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Engineering

The high arsenic groundwater of the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) in India as well as in Bangladesh has become a priority health issue. A large population (>50 million) has been affected by arsenic toxicity over the last two decades. The source of arsenic is geogenic where the sediments are deposited with elevated level of arsenic. An expanding exploitation of groundwater and the change in land use pattern is believed to have triggered the mobilization of arsenic into the groundwater. The geochemical characteristics of the aquifer play a crucial role in understanding the mobilization of arsenic. In the context of prevalence of high concentrations of arsenic in tube well water, a wide range technology has been tried for the removal of arsenic from drinking water. The most common technologies utilized the conventional processes of oxidation, co precipitation and adsorption onto coagulated floes, adsorption onto sorptive media, ion exchange and membrane techniques for arsenic removal. Indian government has successfully completed field performance test of some adsorption based arsenic removal technologies. In this research study detail evaluation of these technology has been done with a view to find out applicable technology for Bangladesh. The technologies have been evaluated with respect to removal capacity of arsenic, user acceptability, installation, operation &maintenance cost, sludge disposal & environmental safety, socio-economic condition, ground water hydrology, water parameter, aquifer characteristics of both India and Bangladesh. Apyron technology and Alcan technology are going to be the successful technology attached to the tube well. But it requires more simplification in design in rural context and to reduce cost of installation, operation and maintenance.