potable drinking water is plagued with widespread arsenic contamination , particularly in developing communities . ferric ions were introduced to interact with arsenate based on the strong affinity of arsenate for ferric hydroxides , followed by mucilage addition . the mucilage coagulated and flocculated the ferric - arsenate complex and formed visible flocs that settled at the bottom of the tubes . the system showed 75 - 96 % arsenate removal in 1 hour , while longer retention times showed 100 % removal . the role of the mucilage was demonstrated by untreated solutions showing no concentration difference and remaining stable for more than 15 days . this mucilage - based technology has the potential to be a relatively inexpensive , environmentally sustainable alternative to synthetic polymer flocculants for removing arsenic from drinking water .