Nano Alumina Arsenic Filter

Improved methods are sought for removing arsenic from drinking water to meet the new 10 ¿g/L standard. Argonide Corporation proposes to develop point-of-entrance and point-of-use (POE/POU) filters that would efficiently remove arsenic down to this limit. The active ingredient of this filter would be a new form of ¿activated¿ alumina, with nano-sized (approximately 2 nm diameter) fibrous dimensions and a high surface area (350 to 650 m2/g). Under a National Aeronautics and Space Administration subcontract, such fibers have been fashioned into a low-pressure drop depth filter with the capability to remove virus from neutral water to greater than 99.99999 percent (7 logs). These nanofibers also absorb trace heavy metals, and initial data show that they absorb low ppb levels of As(V). They are likely to have greater arsenic capacity, as well as better sorption kinetics, than conventional activated alumina. In the first 6 months of the Phase I research project, the feasibility of filter media will be demonstrated by efficiently absorbing As(III) and As(V) for POU applications. In the last 4 months, the potential for the filter to be chemically regenerated for POE systems will be determined. In Phase II, Argonide Corporation proposes to develop and design a prototype cartridge filter for residential use that would meet the 10 ¿g/L standard. Should filter regeneration prove to be economically feasible, more definitive absorption/regeneration cycling for the purpose of POE applications would be performed during Phase II.