Removal of iron in Borewell water without chemicals

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Hello,

Are there economical options for removing iron& other metals from borewell water? Request low-cost solution for high volume water treatment requirements?

Best Regards,

Chandrakant Tewari

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30 Answers

  2. Dear Chandra,

    You are welcome to consider the use of the ClariWash filtration system which is a low cost, low maintenance drinking water treatment system for developing countries. The filter and clarifier  self-wash using a siphon activated system without the need for power supply, backwash pumps or manual intervention. It has upstream aeration and clarification and coagulation could be enhanced by the use of a ZPM static mixer. Pilot trials may be required to determine whether the levels of removal of iron are sufficient for your needs. A leaflet on the system is attached to the post below. The upstream tube clarification should allow the use of AFM grade 0 media for good removals in the filter.

    Kind regards Nigel Heeler.   nigel.heeler@waterreach.co.uk

  3. Dear Chandra,

    You are welcome to consider use of the ClariWash filtration system which is a low cost, low maintenance water treatment system targeting developing countries. It self washes with no need for power supply, backwash pumps etc by means of a siphon system. The system has upstream aeration and clarification which can be enhanced by means of a ZPM static mixer although pilot trials would be needed to see if this is enough to remove the heavy metals without chemical coagulant. It can be self-built at smaller sizes. Leaflet attached. Kind regards. Nigel Heeler

    See website: www.waterreach.co.uk

    Contact me on nigel.heeler@waterreach.co.uk

  4. For reducing Mn and Fe without chemical must use big aeration, the air capacity is depend on the content of Mn&Fe value.

    The trace ions Mn&Mn can be sent to the slow gravity Manganese Green Sand. The result of these ions must be < 0.01 ppm. For regenerate Manganese green sand you can use Na0Cl at pH 5.0-6.5.

  5. Purely iron is reasonably easy with aeration, but other metals? What are you thinking of?

  7. All the recommendations to aerate to convert ferrous iron to ferric and settle are good but when the ferric hydrolyzes to Fe(OH)3, you may see a pH drop as this reaction produces hydrogen ions.  If the bore water is well-buffered with bicarbonate alkalinity, no problem.  If not, polishing (post Fe settling) with an open channel or up-flow pond filled with limestone might be necessary.  

    Consider also "constructed wetlands" that are sized based on metal loading.  Mother Nature has been using this process for billions of years. 

    For net alkaline water, a sizing factor based on 10 grams of iron removal per day per square meter (gdm) of wetland water surface is a good benchmark value.   But iron removal is a first order kinetic reaction; the more iron present, the more efficient its removal will be on a gdm basis.  The iron removed in this way will also sequester arsenic very effectively.  If manganese is also present in the bore water, additional aeration and retention time in the wetland will precipitate MnO2 - in essence a natural green sand which will scavenge many other metals.  I posted a 2013 paper on this topic on the ResearchGate website.

    Iron has to be very low for manganese removal to occur and the Mn gdm values are much lower than iron.  As a first step, I recommend calculating the grams of iron being produced by your well in a day and dividing by 10 gdm; the resulting value will be the amount of wetted surface in your "conceptual" wetland.  Hopefully, you will have enough land area to meet your iron removal goal.  Of course, any design should be based on well-designed bench and pilot scale test results.  

    The best aspect of the passive treatment technology is that it works without chemicals or electricity (if you have enough land) and your water chemistry is favorable.  Good luck.  J. Gusek.

  9. Hi. Looks like you have some good answers already. Also remember that the any residual material that is high in metal will need to be contained and disposed of. An iron removal plant we ran that used aeration was connected to a settling tank and emptied by tanker when required. The volume of sediment we had that settled was relatively small.

  11. Dear Mr. Tewari,

    there is a possibility of a significant reduction of iron-contents in the borehole's near formation. Not suitable for rural  water supply wells, due to sequently maintenance treatments. It works and the costs are much less than downstream treatment, like filtering  etc. Do not try at all the worldwide common known senseless flushing the well with compressed air, because you are clogging the formation's pores over the months and the production reduces up to a final abandonment status.     

  12. Dear Mr. Tewari,

    there is a possibility of a significant reduction of iron-contents in the borehole's near formation. Not suitable for rural  water supply wells, due to sequently maintenance treatments. It works and the costs are much less than downstream treatment, like filtering  etc. Do not try at all the worldwide common known senseless flushing the well with compressed air, because you are clogging the formation's pores over the months and the production reduces up to a final abandonment status.     

  13. The issue is, what form is the iron in flowing from the borehole?  If the iron is in a soluble form then it will flow through any filter used.  It is possible to use air to mix with the borehole prior to it entering a filter, but this is not as good because not all the iron will be in an insoluble oxidised state.  Ozone is an oxidising agent, as is chlorine, permanganate etc.  These all need a reaction time prior to filtration.

    The choice of filter is also important.  Sand is the least useful.  Traditionally green sand, Base Iron Removal Media (BIRM), Filox are all better than sand at removal of oxidised sand although AFM may be suitable.

    If the iron is mainly in the form of iron bacteria then filtration on its own would be enough.  However, in most cases there will be both iron bacteria and soluble iron.  

    It also depends on the level of iron present within the borehole.

    Answered on by


  14. In the case of the presence of different chemical forms of iron and other metals is better to use aeration and filtration of water through sand filters with the replacement of sand on the shredded glass (not sharp!).

  20. We have developed Iron Removal Process for Water. 0.5 MLD plant is working at Dagaon in Assam. It brings down iron from +10 PPM to less than 0.1 PPM. Please write us for further information on sarafrv@virajenvirozing.com

    Prof. Rajendrakumar V Saraf

  21. Hi,

    It is very simple case. you can remove all these metals by adding lime and then precipitation. 

    Best regards

  24. Hi Chandra, It depends what usage the water is destined for. we produce the way to keep iron in suspension for much longer and prevent oxidised scale build up on all pipes and surfaces in full time contact with treated water by use of just frequencies and pulses. 

  25. Depending on the quantity of iron, you have choices of Cascade Aeration, Tray Aeration or Forced Aeration. However the precipitate needs to be removed by clarification & Filtration or only filtration.   

  26. The Brumby Pump aerates the water right down in the bore. If you then pump to a tank and allow to settle for a couple of days, you should have crystal clear water...www.brumbypumps.com 

    Answered on by

  27. Chandra Kant Tewari I would be able to provide you with a solution for this exact requirement.  Please send me all relevant project details to my e-mail - gabe@imexconsultinggroup.com 

  29. Cooling towers convert ferous to ferric iron. Ferrous is water soluble and ferric is insoluble and settles down in cooling tower basins. This way major portions of iron can be removed. For further removal methods discussed by Alexander below can be explored.

  30. Plenty of options. All depends on the chemical form of iron in the bore water. The easiest is to oxidize the dissolved iron with air or ozone and then separate the oxidized metal on sand or any other granular media. Ion exchange can be also used for that - may require sodium chloride for regeneration of the resin. In case iron is complexed with organics which is quite common, it would be beneficial to identify the optimal conditions of breaking down this complex to release iron and precipitating the released metal on media. Catalytic filtration using Birm, Filox, Manganese
    Greensand, FHM and Pyrolox and other media based on manganese dioxides has been proven to be effective. Hope this helps