Abstract
Fluoride levels in drinking water exceeding 1.5 mg/L especially underground water can be detrimental to health. Various defluoridation technologies exist such as reverse osmosis, adsorption and ion exchange. However, adsorption has been preferred over the other due to its low cost and ease of operation. In this study, a novel adsorbent nanomaterial was prepared to remove fluoride from drinking water. The influence of different parameters such as pH, contact time, co-existing ions and dosage were investigated in order to understand the sorption behaviour of the adsorbent under varying conditions. The adsorption process best fitted with the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 62.5 mg/g. The adsorbent can be used under normal water pH=7. Anions and cations had no influence on the sorption capacity except for chlorides, carbonates and bicarbonates. The adsorbent reduced fluoride concentration from 10 ppm to approximately 1.5 ppm per 50 mg nanocomposite loading as recommended by World Health Organization. The synthesized nanocomposite can be used for defluoridation of water with high fluoride concentrations beyond recommended limit.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Tomar, V., and Kumar, D. A critical study on efficiency of different materials for fluoride removal from aqueous media. Chemistry Central Journal, 7(1), 51(2013).
Adak, M.K., Mondal, B., Dhak, P., Sen, S., and Dhak, D. A comparative Study on Fluoride Removal Capacity from Drinking Water by Adsorption using Nano-sized Alumina and Zirconia Modified Alumina Prepared by Chemical Route. Advances in Water Science and Technology 04 (01), 01–10 (2017).
WHO. Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality: First Addendum to Volume 1: Recommendations (2006).
Bhatnagar, A., Kumar, E. and Sillanpaa M. Fluoride removal from water by adsorption -A review. Chemical Engineering Journal. 171(3), pp 811–840 (2011)
Qiusheng, Z., Xiaoyan, L., Jin, Q., Jing, W., & Xuegang, L. Porous zirconium alginate beads adsorbent for fluoride adsorption from aqueous solutions. RSC Adv., 5(3), 2100–2112 (2015).
Sudheesh, K., Ajay, K., Omotayo, A., Bhekie, B. Chitosan-base nanomaterials: A state-of-the-art review, International Journal of Biological Macromolecules 59: 46– 58 (2013).
Khichar, M and Kumbhat, S. Defluoridation-A review of water from aluminium and alumina based compound. International Journal of Chemical Studies, 2(5): 04–11a (2015).
Waghmare, S. S. and Arfin, T. 2015. Fluoride Removal from Water by various techniques: Review. International Journal of Innovative Science, Engineering & Technology, 2 (9), pp 560–571.
Bootharaju, M. S., & Pradeep, T. Uptake of toxic metal ions from water by naked and Monolayer protected silver Nanoparticles: An x-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopic investigation. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 114 (18), 8328–8336 (2010).
Dhermendra, K., Behari, J. and Prasenjit, S. Application of Nanoparticles in Waste Water Treatment. World Applied Sciences Journal 3: 417–433 (2008). 11.Ray, C., Yu, H. and Fu, P. Toxicity and environmental risks of nanomaterials: challenges and future needs. Journal of Environmental Science and Health Part C Environmental Carcinogenesis and Ecotoxicology Reviews 27 : 1–35 (2009) 12. Smith, A. Nanotech- the way forward for clean water. Filtration and separation 43(8), 32– 33 (2006).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Mobegi, E., Nawiri, M. & Andala, D. Fabrication of metal oxide - biopolymer nanocomposite for water defluoridation. MRS Advances 3, 2109–2118 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2018.251
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/adv.2018.251