Abstract
Fluoride pollution in water has attracted widespread concern worldwide. In this study, an Artemia eggshell-zirconium (Aes-Z) nanocomposite has been used for fluoride removal. Material characterization results showed that nano-ZrO2 was immobilized on the inner surface of the Artemia eggshell, and there was no pore blockage on the composite material. Various parameters influencing on the fluoride removal, including treatment time, composite dosage, pH, initial fluoride concentration, and other anions, were analyzed. The removal efficiency of the composite material was better than that of the single zirconia material. The removal percentage of fluoride reached 93% in 30 min with an initial fluoride concentration of 10 mg/L and a nanocomposite dosage of 8.0 g/L. The composite material had a high removal efficiency for fluoride in the pH region 4.0–10.0. The adsorption of fluoride was not influenced by the common anions (e.g., Cl-, SO42-, and NO3-) in water. The regeneration revealed that the Aes-Z composite material could be reused and remove fluoride effectively in four cycles. The pseudo-second-order rate model adequately represented the adsorption kinetics of the Aes-Z composite material. A possible, defluoridation mechanism of the Aes-Z composite material was also proposed. This study demonstrates that Aes-Z is a promising adsorbent material for fluoride removal.
Highlights
Fluoride (F-) pollution in drinking water has attracted wide attention worldwide because its excessive content causes health problems, including fluorosis, osteoporosis, cancer, arthritis, brain injury, and neurological diseases [1, 2]
There were smooth pores in the inner part of the Artemia eggshell (Fig 1A and 1B), and the outer pores were larger than the inner ones
There was no Zr in the Artemia eggshell samples (Fig 2A), but the Zr element content was high in the Artemia eggshell-zirconium (Aes-Z) material (Fig 2B)
Summary
Fluoride (F-) pollution in drinking water has attracted wide attention worldwide because its excessive content causes health problems, including fluorosis, osteoporosis, cancer, arthritis, brain injury, and neurological diseases [1, 2]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) standard [3], the fluoride concentration of drinking water should be lower than 1.5 mg/L. Groundwater is an important part of drinking water resources, its fluoride concentration ranges from 1 ppm to more than 35 ppm [5]. 300 million people worldwide are affected by fluoride pollution from drinking water sources [6, 7]. In China, over 60 million people suffer from health hazards caused by excessive fluoride content in drinking water [8]. Developing low-cost and highly efficient fluoride removal technology is crucial
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
