Water Purification – A Solution for Fluoride Contamination
Voiceover
Presenter Information(s)
Varun Velmurugan
Project Category
Jr - Engineering & Materials Sciences
Project Number
JR-ENG-009
Young Changemaker Award
Water Purification – A Solution for Fluoride Contamination
Varun Velmurugan
Fluoride is an essential element for both humans and animals depending on the total amount ingested or its concentration in drinking water. The presence of fluorine in drinking water, within permissible limits of 0.5–1.0mg/l (WHO recommendation), is beneficial for the production and maintenance of healthy bones and teeth, while excessive intake of fluoride causes dental or skeletal fluorosis and a weakened immune system. Many developing countries are frightened by fluoride-related health hazards caused by excessive exposure of fluoride in water. Thus, removing excessive fluorides from water is still an urgent task. Several technologies, such as electrocoagulation, precipitation, ion exchange, and membrane techniques, have attracted significant interest in fluoride removal. However, the high operating cost or the use of toxic chemicals have restricted their applications in water treatment. Adsorption techniques have been extensively used to remove impurities and pollutants from wastewater because of their low maintenance cost, easy operation, and simple design. We, therefore in this present study made an effort to identify a solution for water purification from fluoride contamination using different adsorbents at different conditions.
Adsorption techniques have been widely used to remove impurities and pollutants from contaminated and wastewater due to their low maintenance cost, easy operation, and simple design. In this study we used different adsorption materials such as activated carbon, activated alumina, ceramic, peanut shell and eggshell to see if these materials can efficiently remove fluoride ion from the water. The efficacy was also tested under various condition of fluoride containing water which includes change in temperature, pH and static condition. In our study we observed that the adsorption capacity is influenced by the condition such as pH and temperature of the fluoride containing solutions. Taken together, our findings suggest that fluoride can be efficiently removed using low-cost adsorbent materials based on the conditions of the fluoride containing water. However further detailed and mechanistic studies are needed before implementing this method for public use.
Abstract or Description
Fluoride contamination in drinking water has become a considerable threat worldwide. Delivering the right amount of fluoride to drinking water helps protect the teeth from decay and reduces the risk of cavities. However, ingestion of fluoride for an extended period and in concentrations over the recommended limits can produce mild to severe health issues called fluorosis, that can cause incorrect dental enamel formation, muscle disorders, reduce the functionality of joints and even affect the bone structure, and brain impairment. To avoid these terrible effects, it is important to control the fluoride levels in drinkable water, particularly in developing countries without access to safe water networks. Although different methods to remove fluoride from water like reverse osmosis, nano filtration, ion-exchange are used, the applicability of the approach with the prospect of country’s economic status is difficult due to high cost and maintenance. In this study we investigated the defluoridation method in water using different adsorption materials under various conditions such as contaminant concentration, pH and temperature which could pave the defluoridation methods to newer horizons. Previously, we proved the risk of fluoride contamination in drinking water using a brine shrimp model and in this year project, we are interested in identifying the better cost-effective method to purify the water from fluoride contamination.