Technologies for Decentralized Fluoride Removal: Testing Metallic Iron-based Filters

Water

Arnaud Igor Ndé-Tchoupé³  Richard A. Crane²  Hezron T. Mwakabona⁴  Chicgoua Noubactep¹  Karoli N. Njau⁵ 

[1] Department of Applied Geology, Universität Göttingen, Goldschmidtstraße 3, Göttingen D-37077, GermanySchool of Engineering, Cardiff University, Queen’s Building, The Parade, Cardiff CF24 3AA, UK;Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, University of Douala, Douala P.O. Box 24157, Cameroon;Department of Physical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro P.O. Box 3038, Tanzania;Department of Water and Environmental Science and Engineering, Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology, Arusha P.O. Box 447, Tanzania;

关键词: fluoride removal;    frugal innovation;    packed-bed filters;    steel wool;    water treatment;    zero-valent iron;   

DOI  :  10.3390/w7126657

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Since the realization in the 1930s that elevated fluoride concentrations in drinking water can have detrimental effects on human health, new methods have been progressively developed in order to reduce fluoride to acceptable levels. In the developing world the necessity for filtration media that are both low-cost and sourced from locally available materials has resulted in the widespread use of bone char. Since the early 1990s metallic iron (Fe⁰) has received widespread use as both an adsorbent and a reducing agent for the removal of a wide range of contaminant species from water. The ion-selectivity of Fe⁰ is dictated by the positively charged surface of iron (hydr)oxides at circumneutral pH. This suggests that Fe⁰ could potentially be applied as suitable filter media for the negatively charged fluoride ion. This communication seeks to demonstrate from a theoretical basis and using empirical data from the literature the suitability of Fe⁰ filters for fluoride removal. The work concludes that Fe⁰-bearing materials, such as steel wool, hold good promise as low-cost, readily available and highly effective decentralized fluoride treatment materials.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.