Resumen
The present study was conducted in Naranjo County located in the municipality of Mixco, Guatemala. The water supply source comes from two wells with a maximum flow of 25.24 and 33.44 L·s-1. The main problem with this source is the high arsenic concentration?between 0.1341 and 0.1671 mg·L-1. The aim of this study was to conduct laboratory tests, basic engineering and supervision of the construction and evaluation of an operations plant using two configurations, A (low-rate sedimentation and ceramic filter) and B (high-rate sedimentation and clinoptilolite filter), to remove arsenic present in water for human use and consumption. This plant supplies water to Naranjo County in Mixco, Guatemala (5000 inhabitants). First, a laboratory Jar Test was performed to evaluate arsenic removal efficiency. And second, a conventional clarification plant was then built (design flow: 25.24 L·s-1). The best results were achieved with configuration B, with the following reagents and dosage as defined by the laboratory tests: 10 mg L-1 ferric chloride as coagulant; 1.8 mg·L-1 CH-polyfocal as flocculant and 0.4 mg L-1 MIT03 as color removal; 1 mg L-1 sodium hypochlorite as oxidant and adjusting pH to ?7.0 with sodium hydroxide. Once the plant began operating, the efficiency of the treatment process was evaluated. The maximum elimination efficiencies were obtained 100% for turbidity (0 UTN), 89.54% (3.66 UPt-Co) for color and 96.80% (0.005 mg L-1) for arsenic, values that comply with Guatemalan standards. For this case, the relation between Fe(III) dosage/mg and As(V) removal was 1:46.