Remove As from Food

Arsenic (As) is a widely existing and quasi metallic element, which has special uses in agriculture, electronics, medicine, dyestuff, metallurgy and chemical industry. However, in the process of production, a large number of arsenic compounds are introduced into the environment, polluting water sources and endangering human health. Arsenic can produce toxicity by interacting with sulfhydryl groups of proteins and enzymes to form complexes (denaturation of proteins and enzymes in cells) and increase intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) to cause cell damage and produce toxicity, thus reducing enzymes in tissues and cells.

Arsenic contaminated food and water enter the human body through the mouth, along with blood distribution throughout the body. With the accumulation of arsenic in the body, it will cause different degrees of arsenic poisoning (acute poisoning and chronic poisoning). The most easily caused is the damage to the skin, which is gradually becoming dry, serious keratinization and abnormal pigmentation; when the arsenic content is too high, the human lung, kidney, liver, nervous system, circulatory system, respiratory system, urinary system and digestive system will be damaged to varying degrees. Severe cases lead to gastrointestinal damage, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, nerve abnormalities, even esophageal bleeding, heart failure and other diseases. Once the arsenic content in drinking water reaches 50 mg/ L, it will cause cancer, which is classified as a carcinogen by the International Center for research on cancer. Long term exposure to arsenic will lead to serious health problems, such as skin cancer, lung cancer, bladder cancer, liver cancer and kidney cancer. So removing arsenic from food is crucial.

General arsenic removal methods include oxidation, co-precipitation, adsorption, reverse osmosis, etc. Unlike traditional adsorption materials (resin, activated carbon), Si-novation functional silica material has multi-functional groups that can effectively adsorb and remove arsenic, and can be reused.

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