Removal of fluoride from the drinking water using activated carbon

Abstract

Fluoride in water above a certain limit is very toxic for human health. The prescribed limit for fluoride in drinking water is 0.5 – 1.5 mg/L. The major sources of exposure to fluoride are drinking water, food and pesticides. Intake of fluoride more than 1.5 mg/l can lead to fluorosis in both animals and humans. There are many ways for fluoride removal namely Electrocoagulation, ion exchange, adsorption etc. But among them adsorption is the very popular, because of its simplicity and a lot of adsorbents available. Removal of pollutants from aqueous environments onto microporous active carbon is a favorite choice because of the high adsorption capacity. But high cost and irreversible nature of adsorption makes it difficult to use. Activated carbon is a good adsorbent to remove fluoride as it has a large surface area and hence a large surface for the adsorption of fluoride. The more will be the surface, the more will be adsorption and more will be the removal. This work seeks the removal percentage for fluoride removal from drinking water using Activated Carbon as the adsorbent. It is a very effective and good method for the removal but having the disadvantage due to its irreversible nature.