Synthesis and Evaluation of Metal Impregnated Adsorbents for the Removal of Fluoride from Aqueous Solutions

Abstract

newline Drinking water is essential for sustaining life as well as environment. It may be noted newlinethat ground water, which is mostly used as drinking water, contributes nearly 70 to newline80% of total requirements. However, miscellaneous factors such as natural cause as newlinewell as various anthropogenic reasons like industrial pollution pollute the ground newlinewater level by various contaminants like heavy metals, arsenic, lead, and anions like newlinenitrate, sulfate, and fluoride along with pesticides that generate from fertilizer sectors. newlineIn this context, ground water sources are reported to be polluted and become unfit and newlineunsafe for human consumption because of excess presence of above mentioned newlinepollutants. Fluoride is an essential constituent of water bodies that generate from slow newlinedissolution of fluorine containing minerals such as fluorite, biotites, topaz and rocks newlinesuch as granite, basalt, and shale. Fluoride is an inorganic pollutant of natural origin newlinefound in groundwater. Fluoride removal is attempted using a number of newlinetechniques/methodologies such as adsorption, precipitation, ion-exchange, electrodialysis and reverse osmosis. Few of the shortcomings of most of these methods newlineinclude both operational and maintenance cost. Further, prior treatment of feed water newlineis essential before application of contaminant removal procedure. In addition, other newlineassociated difficulties include selectivity and sludge management processes. newlineTherefore, adsorption is one of the most viable and adopted technique for newlinedefluoridation of drinking water. This is applied widely with satisfactory results. newlineApart from this, the operation cost and ease of material regeneration increases the newlineefficiency of fluoride removal process in terms of cost factor, simplicity of design newlineprocess and sustainability.