Abstract Groundwater arsenic contamination poses serious health risks, demanding sustainable and cost-effective remediation. This study reports the synthesis of macroporous polyethyleneimine (PEI) sponges prepared via ice-templating and glutaraldehyde crosslinking, designed for reusability and high adsorption performance in arsenic removal. The amine-rich PEI matrix provides abundant binding sites, while its interconnected macroporous structure enhances ion accessibility and mass transfer. The sponges achieved > 90% arsenic removal, decreasing concentrations from 83. 75 µg/L to < 10 µg/L, meeting WHO/BIS standards. FTIR and FESEM-EDX analyses confirm electrostatic and chelation-based interactions between amine groups and arsenic species. Experimental adsorption capacities (qₑₓₚ) at 120 µg/L initial concentration were 187. 0 ± 4. 2 µg/g for As (V) and 182. 5 ± 5. 1 µg/g for As (III) at pH 6. 7. The Langmuir model predicted theoretical maxima of 1251. 7 µg/g (As (V) ) and 1053. 9 µg/g (As (III) ). Techno-economic and life cycle assessments demonstrated a low treatment cost (0. 183/L), 70% reduced operational expenditure, and 40% lower carbon emissions compared to reverse osmosis and activated alumina. Field application in Murshidabad, India, verified real-world efficiency under co-contaminated groundwater conditions. The combination of scalable fabrication, reusability, and eco-efficiency positions PEI sponges as a sustainable alternative for decentralized arsenic remediation aligned with SDG 6.
Sengupta et al. (Fri,) studied this question.