ABSTRACT
Among different inorganic compounds arsenic (As), uranium and fluoride have been found in natural water sources and wastewaters at concentrations potentially dangerous for human health. This chapter illustrates basic principles of microfiltration and ultrafiltration processes and selected applications within the treatment of drinking water for As removal and discusses the significant advantages which can be achieved through their integration with adsorption and coagulation/flocculation technologies. Conventional methods of As removal from drinking water include oxidation/precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, adsorption, ion-exchange and membrane technologies. The use of pressure-driven membrane processes, including microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis, for the removal of As from drinking water has been reviewed by M. C. Shih and M. T. Uddin et al. Dead-end ultrafiltration is used on small-scale and laboratory applications: the feed flow is forced perpendicularly through the membrane causing a build-up of retained particles at the membrane surface and the formation of a cake layer.
