2021 P3 Expo - Solving the Arsenic Problem in Rural California
University of California, Berkeley, CA
We are developing an affordable, compact and high-throughput electrochemical arsenic remediation technology called ACAIE (Air Cathode Assisted Iron Electrocoagulation). ACAIE can remove 1,500 ug/L of arsenic to levels much below the EPA-MCL. We have designed and built 2 liter per minute flow-through ACAIE reactor modules that at scale-up will produce arsenic-safe drinking water at a rate of 600 liters per hour.
Our team is made up of two post-docs, Bilen Akuzum and Siva Bandaru, three graduate students, Dana Hernandez, Andrea Naranjo-Soledad, and Sara Mahmoud, and one undergraduate student, Jay Majmudar. Ashok Gadgil is the principal investigator and Winston Tseng is our co-investigator.
EPA P3 Video Presentation
Poster (click to open a full size image):
The poster shows the progress that has been made in developing ACAIE going from batch scale to a continuous flow system. ACAIE can effectively remove high levels of arsenite to much below the EPA-MCL at high dosage rates. ACAIE has also functioned in the field, treating real California groundwater with high levels of arsenic. Initial cost estimates indicate that ACAIE can serve as an affordable technology for rural California.