Arsenic Removal from Water Using Nanocomposites: A Review

Background: Arsenic is a ubiquitous element which exists in combined form and gets dissolved in water, transferred to human body on exposure through drinking water. It adversely affects human health resulting from stimulating formation of reactive oxygen species, binding to sulfhydryl sites of enzyme, re-placement of phosphate group and altering gene expression. Arsenic poisoning is threatening human be-ing globally, but Bengal Basin is the largest case of mass poisoning in the world. Method: Adsorption is an af-fordable technology available to provide arsenic free water. As(III) and As(V), are two forms commonly found in water. Both these forms can effectively adsorbed by nanocomposites. These inexpensive nano-sized core-shell materials provide sufficient way to adsorb arsenic from water to avoid their exposure to the human body. Result: This review reports the latest available literature related to highly adsorptive removal capacity of nanocomposites for As(III) and As(V). The regeneration of the spent adsorbents has been included along with critical analyses of strategies for safe disposal of exhausted adsorbents.