Phytofiltration of Arsenic-Contaminated Drinking Water

描述(申请人提供)：饮用水中的砷污染对全球数百万人的健康构成重大威胁。目前用于清洁受砷污染的水的技术具有明显的缺点，例如成本高，并且会产生大量有毒废物。Edenspace系统公司建议为一种具有成本效益的植物过滤技术奠定基础，该技术使用最近发现的一种超积累砷的蕨类植物，将饮用水中的砷去除到低于监管限制的浓度。第一阶段研究表明，蕨类植物可以迅速降低各种水源水中的砷浓度，达到低于美国环保局新的饮用水限值10微克/升的水平。第二阶段研究将通过改变重要的水处理因素，如砷的价态、水的pH、包括铁、硫、钠和钙化合物的溶解矿物质、氯化/氟化作用、光的强度和光谱，以及蕨类植物的大小和根密度，来进一步探索蕨类植物的除砷能力。这项工作将在与新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基市和弗吉尼亚州卫生部合作进行的持续过程演示中达到高潮。这项研究的预期结果可能为开发太阳能(光合作用)水培技术提供基础，该技术能够经济高效地小规模清理受砷污染的饮用水。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Arsenic contamination of drinking water poses significant health risks to millions of people worldwide. Current technologies used to clean arsenic-contaminated water have significant drawbacks, such as high cost and generation of large volumes of toxic waste. Edenspace Systems Corporation proposes to create the basis for a cost-effective phytofiltration technology using a recently identified arsenic hyperaccumulating fern to remove arsenic from drinking water to concentrations below regulatory limits. Phase I research demonstrates that the fern can rapidly reduce arsenic concentrations in a variety of source waters, achieving levels less than the new USEPA drinking water limit of 10 mug/L. Phase II research will further explore the fern's arsenic removal capability by varying such important water treatment factors as arsenic valences, water pH, dissolved minerals including iron, sulfur, sodium and calcium compounds, chlorination/fluoridation, intensity and spectrum of light, and fern size and root density. The work will culminate in a continuous process demonstration conducted in collaboration with the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico and Virginia Department of Health. The anticipated results of this research may provide the foundation for development of a solar-powered (photosynthetic) hydroponic technique that enables cost-effective, small-scale cleanup of arsenic-contaminated drinking water.