429
Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology 8.
429-438 Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology Journal homepage: http://ejournal.
edu/index.
php/ijost/ Assessment of Iron Contamination in Groundwater of Catchment Area Water Aichetou Brahim Boutebib1.
Abdoulaye Demba NAodiaye1,*.
SidAoAhmed Baba Elhoumed2.
Bocar Kalidou MAoBaye3.
Youssef Aoulad El Hadj Ali4.
Belkheir Hammouti 5,*.
Bakari Mohamed Semega1 Unity de Recherche.
Eau Pollution et Environnement.
Dypartement de Chimie.
Faculty des Sciences et Techniques.
University de Nouakchott.
Nouakchott.
Mauritanie.
Cellule Management Quality.
Service Laboratoire.
Sociyty Nationale d'Eau (SNDE).
Nouakchott.
Mauritanie.
Laboratoire de Chimie.
Institut National de Recherches en Santy Publique.
Nouakchott.
Mauritanie Dypartement de Chimie.
Faculty des Sciences.
University Abdelmalek Essadi.
Mhannech II, 93002 Tytouan.
Maroc Euro-Mediterranean University of Fez, fez.
Morocco Correspondence: E-mail: abdouldemba@yahoo.
hammoutib@gmail.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the occurrence of iron (F.
in the catchment area water in Derwiche from Hodh El Chargui in Mauritania.
The study area was monitored during January and August.
The occurrence of Fe in the groundwater showed significant spatial and temporal fluctuations.
The relationship between Fe and some physicochemical parameters was also analyzed statistically using PearsonAos correlation matrix.
Firstly, the results suggested that the concentration of Fe was influenced by the dissolution of iron minerals.
Secondly, the results show that the pH value was an important factor that influenced the Fe concentrations in the groundwater.
The Water Quality Index (WQI) method was used to evaluate the suitability for human consumption.
The results show that WQI is strongly influenced by Fe indicating that Fe removal would contribute to excellent well water.
The Treatability Index (TI) is used to assess water quality.
TI confirms the results obtained by the WQI.
However.
TI also shows that the pH is a parameter to be optimized for possible potabilization.
These results show that there would be a close relationship between the recorded Fe levels and the pH.
TI confirms the results obtained by PearsonAos correlation matrix.
Therefore, the presence of high Fe concentrations in groundwater in the study area could have a natural origin.
The results recommended that different treatment techniques should be employed to purify groundwater before consumption.
The primary focus should be cascaded toward Fe
A 2023 Tim Pengembang Jurnal UPI
ARTICLE INFO
Article History:
Submitted/Received 29 Mar 2023
First Revised 01 May 2023
Accepted 14 Jul 2023
First Available online 17 Jul 2023
Publication Date 01 Dec 2023
____________________
Keyword:
Groundwater.
Hodh El Chargui.
Iron.
Mauritania.
Quality.
Boutebib et al.
Assessment of Iron Contamination in Groundwater of Catchment Area Water | 430
INTRODUCTION
Groundwater is a vital natural resource essential for drinking, irrigation, industry, and other economic sectors (Bodrud-Doza et , 2.
Because of being pathogen-free and available, groundwater is considered a prime source of potable water in most countries of the world (Rahman et al.
About 80% of the diseases in developing countries are related to contaminated water and the resulting death toll is as much as 10 Among contaminants, iron (F.
is present in chemicals derived from both natural sources and human activities (Tekerlekopoulou et , 2.
Fe is a fairly abundant element in rocks and is found in the form of silicates, oxides as well as hydroxides, carbonates, and Fe exists in dissolved Fe2 .
errous io.
and suspended Fe3 .
erric io.
forms (Zhang et al.
, 2.
They can occur naturally as a result of waterAesediment interaction which induces their dissolution.
Dissolution processes are controlled by several environmental factors, primarily redox conditions (Weng et al.
, 2007.
McMahon & Chapelle, 2008.
Palmucci et al.
Fe is one of the important elements, used by many technologies, including hydrogen energy generation (Nandiyanto et , 2.
Although trace of Fe is indispensable to human survival, excessive exposure to them can damage human health.
Excessive intake of Fe can lead to chronic intoxication (Zoni et al.
, 2.
Drinking water containing Fe at concentrations 3 mg/L or higher for a long time causes hemochromatosis and other effects (Weng et al.
, 2.
At the same time, the oxidation of Fe makes water turbid and odorous, and excessive Fe content in groundwater also causes pipeline rust and blockage of wells.
Much attention has been paid to this problem (Benrabah et al.
, 2016.
Ye et al.
The World Health Organization (WHO)Aos maximum threshold for Fe2 in drinking water is 0.
3 mg/L.
The objectives of this study are to .
investigate the contamination levels of Fe in the groundwater in catchment area water in Derwiche from Hodh El Chargui in Mauritania and .
examine the factors that influence the Fe concentrations in the Through this work, we offer relevant recommendations that the government could consider in establishing a set of cost-effective measures for groundwater remedy and management.
METHODS
Presentation of the Study Area The Hodh El Chargui, a region located in the southeast of Mauritania at 1000 km from the capital city of Nouakchott (Figure .
, is characterized by a hard and rural The temperature rises during the summer to 50 AC and drops in winter to about 20AC.
Farmers and agro-pastoralists are the main economic actors.
The boreholes are located in the Nema watershed at the level of the pumping station (Dhar-servic.
These boreholes are located about 150 km from Nema, this aquifer has an area of about 30 thousand kmA.
The alimentation of this aquifer is mainly done by the direct infiltration of It is important to note that there is no industrial production or other pollution source in the study area.
The selected boreholes were DL2 (N16A50'17.
5' and W 06A11'24.
2').
DL6 (N16A50'37.
4' and W 06A11Ao07.
, and DL9 (N 16A51'03.
3' and W06A11Ao09.
DOI: https://doi.
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Volume 8 Issue 3.
December 2023 Hal 429-438 Figure 1.
Hodh El Chargui localisation.
Sampling Procedures Water samples were collected from three sampling sites (Borehole.
scattered along the catchment area water in Derwiche from Hodh El Chargui.
The samples were collected two times: the first sampling was done in January and the last in August corresponding to the rainy period.
The sampling for the analysis of physicochemical parameters was carried out at the selected site, using a 1.
5 L polyethylene The collected samples were stored at 4AC in insulated boxes and transported to the laboratory.
Determination of Physicochemical Parameters Methods physicochemical parameters such Temperature (T), pH.
Electrical Conductivity (EC).
Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), nitrates (NO3-), chlorides (Cl-), oxidizability (Organic Matter : (OM), and iron (F.
are listed in Table 1.
It is important to note that each sample was conducted in triplicate and the mean values are reported.
Calculation of Water Quality Index
(WQI)
A WQI is considered a parameter that defined the composite effect attributed to diverse water quality parameters (Sahu & Sikdar, 2.
and was calculated using the Weighted Arithmetic Index method.
The quality rating scale for each parameter q i was calculated by using this expression:
qi = i C100 Table 1.
Water quality parameters and measurement methods.
Parameters TDS ClNO3Fe Unit AAS/cm Measuring equipment and method analysis pH meter HI 991001 pH meter HI 991001 Conductimeter HI98192 Conductimeter HI98192 Volumetric dosage with AgNO3 Photometer Wagtech 7100 Photometer Wagtech 7100 Hot oxidation by KMnO4 DOI: https://doi.
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p- ISSN 2528-1410 e- ISSN 2527-8045 Boutebib et al.
Assessment of Iron Contamination in Groundwater of Catchment Area Water | 432 A quality rating scale .
for each parameter is assigned by dividing its concentration (C.
in each water sample by its respective standard (S.
and the result is multiplied by 100.
Relative weight (W.
was calculated by a value inversely proportional to the recommended standard (S.
of the corresponding parameter:
Wi = The overall WQI was calculated by aggregating the quality rating .
with unit weight (W.
WQI = Eui =1 (Wi C qi ) .
Generally.
WQI was discussed for a specific and intended use of water.
In this study, the WQI for drinking purposes is considered and the permissible WQI for drinking water is taken as 100:
Euq w Overall WQI = i =1n .
Euw i =1 The determined WQI values are classified into five classes as mentioned in Table 2 (Yidana & Yidana, 2.
Treatability Index (TI) and Borehole Classification Model The TI is an indicator that is often used to assess water quality (Enitan-Folami et al.
Masindi & Foteinis, 2.
Besides, the TI is defined as the ratio of the Measured Value (MV) of the contaminant understudy to its Maximum Allowed Limit (MAL) for drinking water, as shown in Equation .
TI =
MAL
When the TI is > 1, the water will require treatment to comply with the prescribed limits, since it is not suitable for human When the TI is < 1, the water will require zero treatment to comply with the required limit, and it is suitable for human consumption.
Equation .
also implies that a wide range of physicochemical parameters such as pH.
TDS.
NO3-.
Cl-.
OM, and Fe should be examined to assess water quality and its suitability for drinking purposes.
The quality of the water will then be determined by the parameter that exhibits the highest TI value, if one parameter has a TI value higher than unity then water will be unsuitable for human consumption, regardless of the values of the other parameters.
Therefore, treatment will be required to lower all TI values below unity before When the TI value is higher than unity, the water boards should either treat the water or not used it at all.
Specifically, to classify water quality in Derwiche from Hodh El Chargui, a classification index was developed.
In this WHO .
http://w.
int/water_sanitation_healt Accessed 21 February 2014 for drinking water, was used to assess groundwaterAos Finally, the water quality was divided into four different classes, as proposed elsewhere (Enitan-Folami et al.
Table 2.
WQI Categories.
Range C50
50Aa100
100Aa200
200Aa300
E300
Quality Excellent water Good water Poor water Very poor water Unsuitable for drinking DOI: https://doi.
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Volume 8 Issue 3.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Spatio-Temporal Variation of Fe First, the physicochemical parameters such as Temperature, pH.
EC.
TDS.
NO3-.
Cland OM studied in the catchment area water in Derwiche during January and August were represented in Table 3.
The Temperature, pH.
EC.
TDS.
NO3-.
Cl- and OM contents of water samples are within WHO for drinking water.
Concerning the spatio-temporal variation of Fe.
Fe values range from 0.
75 to 7 mg/L in January and 0.
4 to 2.
8 mg/L during August.
The highest Fe values are recorded at sites DL2 and DL6, where they reached 4.
8 and 7 mg/L in January, respectively.
However, the lower Fe values are recorded at DL9 in January .
4 mg/L).
The decrease in Fe in August is probably due to the dilution effect of rainwater.
The concentrations of Fe obtained in this study are very lower than those obtained by Hossain et al.
, .
5 mg/L) and Rusydi et al.
, .
mg/L).
The Fe concentration limit is set at 0.
3 mg/L.
Table 3.
Statistical summary of the physicochemical parameters of the catchment area water in Derwiche.
TDS
ClNO3OM
DL2
80A1.
00A0.
15A3.
5A10.
30A3.
02A0.
09A0.
DL6
55A0.
00A0.
10A30.
76A15.
40A3.
08A0.
21A0.
DL9
45A0.
95A0.
65A11.
4A6.
42A3.
00A0.
25A0.
Figure 2.
SpatioAatemporal variation in Fe of Borehole waters from the catchment area water in Derwiche.
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Assessment of Iron Contamination in Groundwater of Catchment Area Water | 434 Relationship Between Fe and Other Physicochemical Parameters The degree estimated by PearsonAos connection coefficients for the January and August catchment area water in Derwiche is exhibited in Tables 4 and 5, respectively.
strong and positive correlation was found between Fe and OM .
=0.
while a strong and negative correlation was found between Fe and pH .
=-0.
(Table .
during January.
This means that the higher Fe concentrations might have been the result of the interaction of underground oxidized iron minerals with OM present and can be due to the dissolution of Fe2CO3 present in rocks at a low pH.
According to Harvey and Fuller .
, a decrease in pH will accelerate the dissolution of carbonates and Fe bound to carbonates will be released into the water.
The FeAeO bonds in the crystal lattices of Fe-bearing minerals will readily be destroyed in an acidic environment to release structural Fe or interlayer Fe and promote Fe dissolution.
Similar observations are reported by (Applin & Zhao 1989.
Mondal et al.
, 2.
A strong and positive correlation was found between FeAeTDS .
and Fe Ae EC .
(Tables 4-.
during January, suggesting that the concentration of Fe in catchment area water in Derwiche well was influenced by dissolution minerals in Similar observations are reported by Akbar et al.
, .
A negative correlation was found between Fe2 and NO3- during January .
=0.
, probably because nitrate is the second preferential electron acceptor after Nevertheless, correlations noted between Fe and NO3imply a reduction process that encourages Fe dissolution (Robertson & Thamdrup Benkaddour et al.
, 2.
Assessment of the Water Quality Using WQI The parameters pH.
TDS.
Cl-.
NO3-.
OM, and Fe, were taken into justification for the calculation of the WQI value for each sampling site in January and August.
Furthermore, the WHO .
imits were used to compute the WQI).
Since the high values of borehole waters, the WQI values were categorized into two categories:
Including Fe, .
Without Fe Table 4.
Pearson correlation matrix of January.
Variables TDS
NO3MO
-0,952
0,644
0,664
0,986
-0,267
0,986
TDS
NO3-
-0,848
-0,862
-0,990
-0,042
-0,990
1,000
0,763
0,565
0,763
0,781
0,543
0,781
-0,101
1,000
-0,101
Table 5.
Pearson correlation matrix of August.
Variables TDS
NO3MO
1,000
-0,498
-0,572
-0,994
0,884
-0,963
TDS
NO3-
-0,481
-0,556
-0,996
0,893
-0,969
0,996
0,399
-0,036
0,248
0,478
-0,123
0,331
-0,931
0,987
-0,977
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p- ISSN 2528-1410 e- ISSN 2527-8045 435 | Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology.
Volume 8 Issue 3.
December 2023 Hal 429-438 In the case of the Fe surveyed is included (Table .
in the calculation of the WQI of the catchment area water in Derwiche, the results showed that the lowest WQI values were recorded at DL9 for all sampling months, indicating poor and very poor water However, the highest WQI values were recorded at DL6 and DL2 indicating unsuitable for drinking water for all sampling months.
Without Fe (Table .
, it was observed that all WQI values are below 50, which means that the water is excellent for drinking in all boreholes from catchment area water in Derwiche for all sites and for all sampling months.
These results obtained by WQI indicate that Fe removal would contribute to excellent quality water.
Assessment of the Water Quality Using The parameters pH.
TDS.
Cl-.
NO3-.
OM, and Fe, were taken into justification for the calculation of the TI value for each sampling site in January and August.
Since the high values of borehole waters Fe, the TI values were categorized into three categories:
Including Fe, .
Without Fe .
Without Fe and pH In the case of the Fe surveyed is included (Table .
in the calculation of the TI of the catchment area water in Derwiche, the results showed that if the Fe has a TI value higher than unity then water will be unsuitable for human consumption for all sampling sites and months.
However once without Fe (Table .
, it was observed that pH has a TI value between 0.
75 and 1, indicating water will be acceptable quality for human consumption for all sampling sites and months.
Without Fe and pH (Table .
, the results showed that all studied parameters have a TI value higher than unity then water will be of excellent quality for human consumption for all sampling sites and months.
The TI confirms the results obtained by the WQI.
However.
TI also shows that the pH is an important factor that influenced the Fe concentrations in the groundwater.
So, the TI confirms the results obtained by the correlation matrix.
Table 6.
WQI values of different sampling sites from catchment area water in Derwiche including Fe.
Boreholes DL2
DL6
DL9
WQI
January Water type
Unsuitable for drinking Unsuitable for drinking Very poor water
WQI
August Water type Unsuitable for drinking Unsuitable for drinking Poor water Table 7.
WQI values of different sampling sites from catchment area water in Derwiche without Fe.
Boreholes DL2
DL6
DL9
WQI
January Water type
Excellent water
Excellent water
Excellent water
WQI
August Water type Excellent water Excellent water Excellent water DOI: https://doi.
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Assessment of Iron Contamination in Groundwater of Catchment Area Water | 436 Table 8.
TI values of different sampling sites from catchment area water in Derwiche including Fe.
January August
Sites DL2
DL6
DL9
DL2
DL6
DL9
TDS
Cl0.
NO30.
Class Table 9.
TI values of different sampling sites from catchment area water in Derwiche without Fe.
January August
Sites DL2
DL6
DL9
DL2
DL6
DL9
TDS
Cl0.
NO30.
Class Table 10.
TI values of different sampling sites from catchment area water in Derwiche without Fe and pH.
January August
Sites DL2
DL6
DL9
DL2
DL6
DL9
TDS
Cl0.
CONCLUSION
This study investigates the occurrence of Fe in the catchment area water in Derwiche from Hodh El Chargui in Mauritania.
The occurrence of Fe in the groundwater showed significant spatial and temporal fluctuations and was possibly affected by the change in environmental conditions within the aquifer.
The relationship between Fe and some physicochemical parameters was also analyzed statistically using PearsonAos correlation matrix.
Firstly, the results suggested that the concentration of Fe was influenced by the dissolution of iron Secondly, the results show that the pH value was an important factor that influenced the Fe concentrations in the The WQI is used to identify NO30.
Class the influence of Fe contamination.
These results indicate that Fe removal would contribute to excellent well water.
The TI confirms the results obtained by the WQI.
However.
TI also shows that the pH is a parameter to be optimized for possible These results show that there would be a close relationship between the recorded Fe levels and the pH.
Therefor, the TI confirms the results obtained by PearsonAos correlation matrix.
Therefore, the presence of high Fe concentrations in groundwater in the study area could have a natural origin.
From the result of the present study, it is treatment techniques should be employed to purify groundwater before consumption.
Adsorption is one of the most widely applied DOI: https://doi.
org/10.
17509/ijost.
p- ISSN 2528-1410 e- ISSN 2527-8045 437 | Indonesian Journal of Science & Technology.
Volume 8 Issue 3.
December 2023 Hal 429-438 techniques for Fe and other pollutants AUTHORSAo NOTE The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.
The authors confirmed that the paper was free of plagiarism.
REFERENCES