Cyprian Murutu, M. Onyango, A. Ochieng
Apr 1, 2012
Citations
0
Influential Citations
26
Citations
Journal
Water SA
Abstract
Fluoride in drinking water above permissible levels is responsible for dental and skeletal fluorosis. In this study, removal of fluoride ions from water using phosphoric acid treated lime was investigated in continuous and point-of-use system opera tions. In the continuous column operations, fluoride removal performance was investigated as a function of the fluoride concentration, flow rate and amount of adsorbent mass. Early saturation and lower fluoride removal were observed at higher flow rate and initial concentration, and at lower mass. Two domestic defluoridation point-of-use systems operated inter mittently to process 20 l∙day −1 of water were used. High fluoride uptake capacity (FUC) from groundwater was observed depicting the suitability of the new media in defluoridation. However, further research is required to optimise the point-ofuse systems performances.