Preparation of mesoporous alumina electro-generated by electrocoagulation in NaCl electrolyte and application in fluoride removal with consistent regenerations

The fluoride adsorption by Electro-Generated Adsorbents (EGA) was briefly and recently shown. In this paper, the preparation of a particular EGA and its characteristics are presented. For the first time, the fluoride adsorption of one EGA was deeply investigated showing that the regeneration of this material leads to an efficient process which was better than an electrocoagulation one. The investigated adsorbent called EGA_NaCl was prepared by electrolysis in NaCl electrolyte with aluminum electrodes and was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), FTIR and BET studies. The physical analyses showed that EGA_NaCl was a mesoporous mixture of AlOOH and three Al(OH)₃ which contain the chlorine element and registered the surface area of 114.31 m² g⁻¹. The presence of chlorine explains the pH increase observed during the electrolysis. The fluoride adsorption as a function of pH, initial fluoride concentration, EGA_NaCl dose, temperature, co-ions and cycles of regeneration was studied using batch methods. Among the kinetic models, the pseudo – second – order model was superior to others and among the adsorption isotherms, Langmuir model fits well as compared to that of Freundlich model based on the regression coefficient values. Determination of thermodynamic parameters such as ΔH and ΔG respectively revealed the nature of endothermic and temperature – driven nature of the fluoride sorption process. The maximum adsorption capacity of EGA_NaCl was found to be 16.33 mg g⁻¹ at 27 °C and a maximum fluoride removal occurred at pH 6.55. The spent adsorbent showed the defluoridation efficiency of 95.53% up to fifth regeneration with diluted NaOH. Factorial design matrix and analysis of variance using JMP model have also been extensively discussed in this paper.     

Treatment of sugar processing industry wastewater using copper electrode by electrocoagulation: Performance and economic study

This paper demonstrates the use of copper electrode for the treatment of sugar processing industry wastewater (SPIW) in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) by applying electrocoagulation (EC) method. EC process was carried out in batch mode with electrode effective area of 0.0112 m², supplied current intensity (CI) of 44.64 A/m² - 223.21 A/m², electrode gap (EG) of 0.5–2.5 cm, electrolyte (NaCl) dose (ED) of 0.5–2.5 g/L to treat SPIW with initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 6000 mg/L. The maximum COD removal 73% of SPIW is achieved at optimized condition of SPIW pH: 7, CI: 89.28 A/m², EG: 1.5 cm & ED: 1.5 g/L. Sludge and scum generated during EC process were characterized by FTIR, TGA/DTA/DTG, proximate & ultimate analysis to find its applicability and their disposal. Additionally, economic study of EC treatment process at optimum condition suggest treatment cost was 11.2 US$/m³ and it indicate economic results as comparison to other available treatment processes.     

Synthesis of La-incorporated chitosan beads for fluoride removal from water

In this study, lanthanum incorporated chitosan beads (LCB) were synthesized using precipitation method and tested for fluoride removal from drinking water. The effect of various parameters like complexation and precipitation time, lanthanum loading and ammonia strength on fluoride removal have been studied. It is observed that the parameters for the synthesis of LCB have significant influence on development of LCB and in turn on fluoride removal capacity. The optimal condition for synthesis of LCB includes lanthanum loading: 10 wt%, complexation time: 60 min, precipitation time: 60 min, drying temperature: 75 °C for 72 h. The maximum fluoride adsorption capacity of LCB was found to be 4.7 mg/g and negligible release of lanthanum ion was observed. XRD analysis shows the presence of lanthanum hydroxide and amorphous nature of LCB. SEM of LCB shows the presence of oval lanthanum hydroxide particles spread over the chitosan matrix. Fluoride adsorption capacity has been calculated by applying Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The comparative study suggests that LCB shows four times greater fluoride adsorption capacity than the commercially used activated alumina.     

Stopped-flow kinetic determination of aluminum in Chinese tea leaves by fluoride ion-selective electrode potentiometry

A stopped-flow kinetic potentiometric method for the determination of aluminum is described, based on monitoring the reaction between aluminum and fluoride at pH 3.0 using fluoride ion-selective electrode. The initial rate of the reaction is proportional to the concentration of aluminum present in the solution. The method is simple and rapid and has been applied to the determination of aluminum in Chinese tea leaves after microwave digestion.     

Determination of fluoride in drinking water and in urine of adolescents living in three counties in Northern Chihuahua Mexico using a fluoride ion selective electrode

This study was carried out to determine fluoride in drinking water and in urine of adolescents, ages 15-20 years, living in Northern Chihuahua Mexico. Participants are from a cross-sectional study on health effects of chronic fluoride exposure from drinking water. A total of 201 participants (106 female and 95 male) in the study were recruited from three counties. Samples of drinking water of each county were collected and analyzed using the U.S. EPA Fluoride Ion-Selective Method. Statistically significant difference of fluoride content in water was found among the three counties of recruitment (Cd. Juarez; 0.3 mg/L, Samalayuca, 1.0 mg/L, and Villa Ahumada, 5.3 mg/L). Fluoride content in wells and tap water samples of Villa Ahumada ranged from 5.0 to 5.7 mg/L. Fluoride content of these samples was above the level permitted by Mexican regulations. The fluoride content in bottled water obtained from local stores in Villa Ahumada ranged from 0.3 to 3.7 mg/l.Fluoride in urine samples of each participant was also analyzed using the U.S. EPA Ion-Selective Method. The mean fluoride urine concentration (reported in mg/g creatinine) in adolescents living in these counties was 0.792±0.39, 1.33±0.67 and 2.22±1.16 (Cd. Juarez, Samalayuca and Villa Ahumada), respectively. The high fluoride urinary levels found in participants from Villa Ahumada may be associated to the high fluoride level (5.3 mg/L) in dinking water.The accuracy of measurements was assessed with reference materials in water and in urine. Mean fluoride recovery was 99.0% and 99.6% in water and in urine, respectively. The levels obtained were within the assayed 5% confidence levels.     

Uncertainty of measurement for the determination of fluoride in water and wastewater by direct selective electrode potentiometry

A procedure to estimate the uncertainty of measurement applied to the fluoride determination of waters and wastewaters matrices by selective electrode potentiometry was implemented based on Eurachem Guide. The major sources of uncertainty were identified as the calibration standard solutions, fluoride concentration obtained by potential interpolation of the regression line and the precision. However the relative uncertainties depend on the anion concentration levels. The methodology proposed was presented to two fluoride concentration levels that are in the range of surface water samples (C _sample=1.12 mgF l⁻¹) and of wastewater matrices (C _sample=101.4 mgF l⁻¹). The expanded uncertainties calculated were 0.40 and 9.1 mg l⁻¹ for low and high concentration levels, respectively, using the reproducibility uncertainty as precision evaluation. The relative expanded uncertainty was around ±10% for the highest concentration, which can be considered acceptable for the ion selective electrode potenciometric methods and ±36% for the lowest concentrations. In this case the sample fluoride content is very close to the limit of quantification which has a relative uncertainty of about ±30%. If the repeatability was used in spite of duplicate analysis the same conclusions were obtained (C _sample=1.12 ± 0.39 mgF l⁻¹ and C _sample=101.4 ± 7.0 mgF l⁻¹). Although the calculated expanded uncertainties and consequently the combined uncertainty, do not vary significantly in the cases where it was used the repeatability or reproducibility for evaluating the precision, each relative variances uncertainty contributions do. When the repeatability is used to determine the combined uncertainty, the CSS and uncertainties contributions are the most dominant ones. However, if reproducibility is used, relative uncertainty variance contributions are distributed among CSS, C _F, and precision. In both cases, the contribution increases and r _CSS contribution decreases with the increasing of the concentration level. The precision variance contribution is only significant in the case where the reproducibility is used, and increases with the increasing of the concentration level. The uncertainty in the result calculated using the proposed methodology (C _sample ± U _sample = 2.17 ± 0.42 mgF l⁻¹) is in satisfactory agreement with the estimated expanded uncertainty obtained using the relative reproducibility standard deviation obtained in interlaboratory studies ().     

Removal of fluoride from fluoride contaminated industrial waste water by electrolysis

Wastewater containing fluoride are generally treated with lime or calcium salt supplemented with aluminium salts. Wastewater generated from different industries does not always behave in the same way due to the presence of interfering contaminants. A number of techniques have been developed and studied for the removal of excessive fluoride. Most of these are based on use of aluminium salt. In alum coagulation the sorption properties of product of hydrolysis of aluminium salts and capacity of fluoride for complex formation plays a very important role. These hydrolysis products of aluminium can be produced by passing direct current through aluminium electrode. The text presented in the paper deals with the various aspect of removal of fluoride by electrolysis using aluminium electrode from fluoride chemical based industrial wastewater.     

Adsorption of fluoride from aqueous solution by acid treated spent bleaching earth

Acid treated spent bleaching earth was studied to assess its capacity for the adsorption of fluoride from aqueous solutions. Adsorption isotherms have been modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich equations and isotherm constants for both isotherms were calculated. The effect of the adsorbent concentration on the adsorption was studied. The dependence of the adsorption of fluoride on the pH of the solution has been studied to achieve the optimum pH-value and a better understanding of the adsorption mechanism. It has been found that maximum adsorption of fluoride from aqueous solutions takes place at pH-value of 3.5. Second-order equation was used to describe the adsorption rate of fluoride and adsorption rate constant was calculated. Intraparticle and mass transfer coefficients were calculated. The influence of addition of the anions on the adsorption of fluoride was also studied to simulate industrial waste waters and the addition of anions decreased the adsorption of fluoride on the acid treated spent bleaching earth (SBE).     

亚临界水条件下煤中汞的脱除

运用半连续反应装置对山西吴家坪煤中汞在亚临界水中的脱除规律进行了研究。考察了反应温度为290 ℃、320 ℃ 、350 ℃、 380 ℃，反应压力为5 MPa、10 MPa、15 MPa,萃取时间为10 min、30 min、60 min、100 min时对汞脱除率的影响。结果表明，在290 ℃～380 ℃，随着温度升高，汞脱除率明显增加；在5 MPa～15 MPa，压力越大，汞的脱除率也越大；在10 min～100 min，随着萃取时间的延长，汞脱除率增加；在380 ℃, 15 MPa, 1 h，汞的脱除率最大可达96％以上。     

Preparation of a new solid state fluoride ion selective electrode and application

A new solid state fluoride ion selective electrode composed of 70% Ag₂S, 10% Cu₂S and 20% CaF₂ has been developed. An analytically useful potential change occurred, from 1 × 10⁻⁶ to 1 × 10⁻¹ M fluoride ion. The slope of the linear portion (1 × 10⁻¹-1 × 10⁻⁵ M) was about 26 ± 2 mV/10-fold concentration changes in fluoride. It was found that pH change between 1 and 8 had no effect on the potential of the electrode. There was no interference of most common cations such as K^+, Na⁺, Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ and anions such as Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻ and PO₄³⁻. The lifetime of the electrode was more than 2 years, when used at least 4-5 times a day, and the response time was about 60 s.The measurements were made at constant ionic strength (0.1 M NaNO₃) and at room temperature. This electrode has been used for the determination of fluoride ion in Ankara city tap water and in bottled spring water using standard addition method. The validation of the electrode has been made with a commercial fluoride ion selective electrode (Orion) and high consistency was obtained.     

An initial-rate potentiometric method for the determination of uric acid using a fluoride ion-selective electrode

The principle of a general potentiometric method based on Emerson-Trinder reaction for the assay of various hydrogen peroxide generating systems is reported. Emerson-Trinder reaction, habitually employed as a spectrophotometric indicator reaction, is exploited in this method as a potentiometric indicator reaction. This method is based on the detection of F⁻ ions, liberated from the oxidation of a fluorophenol compound used as hydrogen-donor in Emerson-Trinder reaction, by a fluoride ion-selective electrode. The ability and usefulness of this method are illustrated by an initial-rate potentiometric determination of uric acid in aqueous and human serum samples, for which, initial-rate reaction progress curves, linear calibration curve, within-day precisions, upper and lower detection limits, and also its analytical recovery were reported.     

Performance and Mechanisms of Fluoride Removal from Groundwater by Lanthanum-aluminum-loaded Hydrothermal Palygorskite Composite

Lanthanum-aluminum loaded hydrothermal palygorskite(La-Al-HP) composite was prepared and selected as adsorbent for the fluoride removal from simulated groundwater. The adsorbent was characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Brunauer-Emmet-Teller(BET) analysis, X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). SEM visualization shows that the dense surface structure of raw HP appeared loose and presented micro canals after modification. The BET analysis also proved the specific surface area of La-Al-HP composite(95.58 m²/g) was higher than that of the raw HP(34.31 m²/g). Subsequently, the adsorption capacity of La-Al-HP composite was demonstrated in adsorption experiments. The kinetics of fluoride ion adsorption into La-Al-HP composite followed the pseudo-second order with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The isotherm data was well fitted with the Langmuir model. The monolayer adsorption capacity of La-Al-HP composite was 1.30 mg/g. The XRD and XPS results reveal that the La³⁺ and Al³⁺ ions were loaded on the surface of modified HP and the fluoride ion was adsorbed onto the La-Al-HP composite. A large amount of La-Al-O composite oxide existing on the surface of La-Al-HP composite might be the immanent cause for the excellent adsorption capacity of fluoride ions.     

Fluoride removal using lanthanum incorporated chitosan beads

Highly selective material based on naturally occurring biomaterial namely chitosan has been designed for the defluoridation of water. Lanthanum incorporated chitosan beads (LCB) were prepared using precipitation method. The synthesis was optimized by varying different synthesis parameters namely lanthanum loading, complexation and precipitation time, strength of ammonia solution used for precipitation, drying time, etc. Lanthanum incorporated chitosan beads were characterized using SEM, FTIR, XRD and EDX. Surface area of LCB was observed to be 2.76 m² g⁻¹. The equilibrium adsorption data fitted well to Langmuir adsorption isotherm and showing maximum fluoride adsorption capacity of 4.7 mg g⁻¹ with negligible lanthanum release. Kinetic study reveals that adsorption of fluoride is fast and follows pseudo-first-order kinetics. The effect of pH was also studied and the best efficiency was observed at pH 5. Presence of sulphate, nitrate and chloride marginally affected the removal efficiency, however drastic reduction in fluoride uptake was observed in the presence of carbonate and bicarbonate. Negative value of change in free energy (ΔG°) and positive value of change in entropy (ΔS°) suggest the adsorption of fluoride by LCB is feasible and spontaneous process. Positive value of change in enthalpy (ΔH°) suggests the process of fluoride adsorption is endothermic in nature. Regeneration study reveals that 1 M ammonium chloride solution appears to be the promising regeneration media showing 81.22% regeneration. The adsorption capacity of LCB was similar in fluoride-contaminated ground water collected from Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh, India, as compared to simulated water.     

Statistical optimizing of electrocoagulation process for the removal of Cr(VI) using response surface methodology and kinetic study

Optimization of electrocoagulation (EC) using copper electrode in terms of Cr(VI) removal from simulated waste water was executed by applying surface methodology and kinetic study. In this research, electrocoagulation process was applied to evaluate the outcome of operational parameters such as initial Cr(VI) concentration, pH, electrode distance, current density and supporting electrolyte (NaCl) concentration for the removal of Cr(VI). The experimental results showed that current density of 41.32 A/m², electrode distance of 1.4 cm, initial pH of 5.65, time of electrocoagulation of 40 min and initial conductivity 0.21 ms are the optimal operating parameters to attain 93.33% removal efficiency of Cr(VI) ions from simulated waste water. The high value of R² = 98.15 and R²_adj = 96.49 show that fitted model confirms a good agreement with the real and predicted Cr(VI) removal percentage. It was concluded that Cr(VI) ion removal follows the first-order kinetic model by kinetic study of EC process.     

Fluoride removal from water by chitosan derivatives and composites: A review

Fluoride is an essential element, indispensable for maintenance of dental health. Nevertheless, fluoride concentrations in drinking water above 1.5 mg L⁻¹ may be detrimental to human health. Many methods have been developed for removing excessive fluoride from drinking water, adsorption seems to be an effective, environmentally friendly and economical one. Since the sorption capacity of fluoride below 2 mg L⁻¹ on most conventional adsorbents is not satisfactory, much effort has been devoted to develop new and cost-effective fluoride adsorbents. This review reports the recent developments in the F⁻ removal in water treatment, using chitosan derivatives and composites in order to provide useful information about the different technologies. When possibly the adsorption capacity of chitosan derivatives and composites under different experimental conditions is reported to help to compare the efficacy of the fluoride removal process. A comparison with the adsorption capacity of other low cost adsorbents is also tabled.     

Removal of chlorinated solvents from carbonate-buffered water by zero-valent iron

The performance of a ground level reactive cell, filled with Fe⁰, designed for the treatment of water contaminated by chlorinated solvents, having a total input concentration of approximately 2 mg 1⁻¹ of the principal contaminants trichloroethene and perchloroethene, was tested at the Milovice site in the Czech Republic. A residence time of 1.62 days in the box was sufficient to reduce concentrations to a fraction less than 0.015 of the initial concentration. However, incomplete degradation of cis-1,2-DCE was observed. Reactions approximated first-order kinetics. The principal changes of concentrations of inorganic dissolved species in the reactive cell occurred for Ca²⁺, HCO ₃ ⁻ , NO ₃ ⁻ (decreased) and for Fe (initially increased, then decreased). Changes for Ca²⁺ and HCO ₃ ⁻ were caused by the precipitation of secondary carbonate mineral phases such as aragonite and siderite with the minor presence of green rust-CO₃. Concentration changes were gradual, along the complete length of the cell with a maximum at the inlet zone. The observations were attributed to minor increases of pH and slow kinetics of precipitation in the carbonate-buffered system. The average porosity loss was estimated to be approximately 2.7 % of the initial porosity per year, suggesting the long-term function of the permeable reactive barrier.      

Removal of fluoride from water through ion exchange by mesoporous Ti oxohydroxide

In our previous study, we found that Ti(OH)(4) exhibited fluoride ion exchange properties. In order to improve the ion exchange capacity, mesoporous Ti oxohydroxide (TiOx(OH)y) had been prepared by using dodecylamine as template. Zirconia and silica had been introduced into the mesoporous Ti oxohydroxide to enhance the ion exchange capacity. The mesoporous structure and the morphology of the mesoporous materials obtained were confirmed using XRD and SEM, respectively. A fluoride ion exchange study was done on each sample. Results showed that mesoporous Ti oxohydroxide containing zirconia exhibited the highest fluoride ion exchange capacity, as it has the smallest particle size, with high uniformity among the mesoporous materials prepared.     

Fast spectrophotometric determination of fluoride in ground waters by flow injection using partial least-squares calibration

The presence of sulphate constitutes a serious interference in the usual zirconium lake-based spectrophotometric method for the determination of fluoride in water. In this report, full spectral data have been recorded for the zirconium lake of 2-(parasulfophenylazo)-1,8-dihydroxy-3,6-naphthalene-disulfonate (SPADNS) in the simultaneous presence of fluoride and sulphate, as obtained with a flow injection system with a diode-array detector. The information has been processed with partial least-squares (PLS) multivariate calibration. Adequate modeling using a sixteen-sample calibration set allows fluoride to be determined in ground waters by the automated flow injection method, even in the presence of sulphate in concentrations up to 1000 mg l⁻¹. In the calibration range 0-1.50 mg l⁻¹ for fluoride, the limit of detection is 0.1 mg l⁻¹. The fluoride contents in real samples, as determined with the present method, were satisfactorily compared with those provided by ion selective potentiometry.     

Sorptive elimination of fluoride from contaminated groundwater in a fixed bed column: A kinetic model validation based study

The current investigation involves a continuous adsorption experiment in a packed bed column for the sorptive elucidation of fluoride from contaminated groundwater using an activated soil-clay mixture. Through the combination of naturally accessible laterite soil with silica enriched clay (3:1 ratio), a low-cost Al–Si heterogeneous material has been developed. Following detailed characterization, the developed materials were employed in a long-time column process to achieve a high degree of fluoride separation from real-world groundwater. In a packed bed column investigation, the effect of bed height, initial fluoride concentration, and flow rate on the breakthrough properties of the adsorption system were investigated. By using a non-linear regression equation, three model kinetics, such as the Thomas Model, Adams-Bohart Model, and Yoon-Nelson Model, were fitted to validate the column-based experimental data, by analysing the breakthrough curves profiles, and distinct kinetic parameters. The Bed Depth Service Time Analysis (BDST) model was tested to express the effect of bed height on breakthrough curves, as well as to predict the time for breakthrough, and material depletion under optimal conditions. The Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models were identified to be the most appropriate ones for describing the entire breakthrough curve, whereas the Adams-Bohart model was only utilised to predict the first half of the dynamic process. With correlation coefficients (R²) 0.96, the experimental results were well suited to Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, and Adams-Bohart models. Finally, regeneration assessment was carried out where even after four cycles of operation, regenerated adsorbent showed a rejection efficacy of 78% to fluoride that proves the viability of the material and methodology.     

Removal of multi-metals from water using reusable pectin/cellulose microfibers composite beads

Pectin (Pec) and cellulose microfibers (CF) extracted from orange waste were combined to form composite beads with enhanced adsorption capacity. Such beads were extensively tested in the removal of multi-metal ions from water. A factorial design approach was conducted to establish the optimum conditions for adsorption of Cd(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) on Pec-CF beads. Batch adsorption experiments revealed that removal efficiency of such metal ions falls in the range of 94–58% and it followed the order Fe(II) > Cu(II) > Cd(II). The maximum Cd(II), Cu(II) and Fe(II) adsorption capacities calculated from the Langmuir isotherm were 192.3, 88.5 and 98.0 mg/g, respectively. FTIR analysis suggests that the functional groups on Pec-CF beads (binding sites) favor the adsorption of such metal ions. Desorption and reuse experiments demonstrated the beads could be used for at least five consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles. Our finds suggest the Pec-CF beads can serve as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of multi-metal ions from wastewater.