Efficacy of Terminalia arjuna mature leaf powder and Phyllanthus emblica bark powder to reduce nitrate: N and total hardness in groundwater in karstified limestone aquifer

Abstract

Groundwater is a vital resource in the northern region of Sri Lanka, as it is the only water resource used for domestic, agricultural and industrial activities in that area. However, due to excessive usage of synthetic fertilizer, the groundwater in this part of the country is highly contaminated with nitrates. In addition, due to the effect of underlain limestone aquifer, water hardness is also high. The present study aimed to study the effect of filtration through Terminalia arjuna mature leaf powder and Phyllanthus emblica bark powder on reducing nitrate concentration and hardness. The results indicated that 21.4% reduction of nitrate concentration can be achieved by filtration through Terminalia arjuna mature leaf powder and 9.3% reduction of total hardness by filtration through Phyllanthus emblica bark powder. Therefore, further research is recommended on testing the potential and side effects of using Terminalia arjuna mature leaf powder and Phyllanthus emblica bark powder as a combined home remedial treatment technique for treating nitrate contaminated hard water.

Pb (II) Adsorption over Activated Carbon Prepared from Cedrus Deodara Bark by Na2CO3 Activation: Optimal Design for Modelling and Process Optimization

“…River water samples were collected from a depth of 20 cm below the surface of water from mid‐channel of the river at Sangam using sterile plastic bottles [87] . These samples were treated by passing through a fixed vertical column set up packed with CDAC powder [88,89] . The originally untreated and treated water samples were acid digested with HNO 3 according to the standard procedure – USEPA Method 3005 A and the digested solution was subjected to Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Agilent, 8900 ICP – MS Triple Quad) to investigate the contaminant levels of Pb (II) ions [90,91]…”

“…[87] These samples were treated by passing through a fixed vertical column set up packed with CDAC powder. [88,89] The originally untreated and treated water samples were acid digested with HNO 3 according to the standard procedure -USEPA Method 3005 A and the digested solution was subjected to Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Agilent, 8900 ICP -MS Triple Quad) to investigate the contaminant levels of Pb (II) ions. [90,91] The fixed column set up consisted of a vertical glass tube having a sintered glass disc at bottom, so as to avoid adsorbent particles from unnecessarily escaping the column.…”