title: Application of natural citric acid sources and their role on arsenic removal from drinking water: a green chemistry approach.
abstract: Solar Oxidation and Removal of Arsenic (SORAS) is a low-cost non-hazardous technique for the removal of arsenic (As) from groundwater. In this study, we tested the efficiency of natural citric acid sources extracted from tomato, lemon and lime to promote SORAS for As removal at the household level. The experiment was conducted in the laboratory using both synthetic solutions and natural groundwater samples collected from As-polluted areas in West Bengal. The role of As/Fe molar ratios and citrate doses on As removal efficiency were checked in synthetic samples. The results demonstrate that tomato juice (as citric acid) was more efficient to remove As from both synthetic (percentage of removal: 78-98%) and natural groundwater (90-97%) samples compared to lemon (61-83% and 79-85%, respectively) and lime (39-69% and 63-70%, respectively) juices. The As/Fe molar ratio and the citrate dose showed an 'optimized central tendency' on As removal. Anti-oxidants, e.g. 'hydroxycinnamates', found in tomato, were shown to have a higher capacity to catalyze SORAS photochemical reactions compared to 'flavanones' found in lemon or lime. The application of this method has several advantages, such as eco- and user- friendliness and affordability at the household level compared to other low-cost techniques.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Girona, Campus Montilivi s/n., 17071 Girona, Spain; Department of Chemistry, University of Kalyani, Kalyani 741 235, West Bengal, India. Electronic address: san_chem_03@yahoo.co.in.
authors.forename: Santanu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Majumder
authors.forename: Bibhash
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nath
authors.forename: Simita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Sk Mijanul
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bundschuh
authors.forename: Debashis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chatterjee
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hidalgo
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry; D001151:Arsenic / Q000737:chemistry*; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D002957:Citrus / Q000378:metabolism; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis*; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology / Q000379:methods*; D060587:Groundwater; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007194:India; D007501:Iron / Q000737:chemistry; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000378:metabolism; D013472:Sunlight; D013696:Temperature; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D060766:Drinking Water; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D019343:Citric Acid; D007501:Iron; D001151:Arsenic
keywords: Anti-oxidant activity; Arsenic; Citric acid; Groundwater; Solar oxidation