Abstract
Water is a source of life, however due to increase in population and rapid industrialization
potable water is scarces and not readily available to all which results in people using
groundwater as their source of water for domestic use and other uses. Groundwater from
some parts of the South Africa is polluted by naturally occurring chemical elements
released during water-rock interactions. As an example fluoride, which is a naturally
occurring compound derived from fluorine. Fluoride when present in high concentrations
in drinking water has a detrimental effect on teeth and bones. Fluoride is a consistent
problem globally and in South African provinces like Limpopo, North West and Kwa-Zulu
Natal concentration of above 1.5 mg/L of fluoride in groundwater have been observed. Up
to a level of 1–1.5 mg/L F- can strengthen the enamel and bones in general. However,
concentrations in the range of 1.5–4 mg/L result in dental fluorosis whereas with continued
exposure at still higher fluoride concentrations (4–10 mg/L) dental fluorosis progresses to
skeletal fluorosis. Based on the above, it clear that there is a serious need for water
defluoridation. For this, several techniques have been used to remove fluoride from
groundwater including reverse osmosis, adsorption nanofiltration, dialysis and electrodialysis.
Such methods have several limitations such as costs (very expensive), difficult to
use, in addition they can also be the source of secondary pollution, which can harmful to
our health. The adsorption technique has been reported to be the best technique for the
removal of fluoride from water because of it is simple, easy to operate at low cost.
Adsorption deals with adsorbents such as: activated alumina, clays, zeolites and
agricultural wastes. Some of these adsorbents have limitations, which include easy
chemical bonding with fluoride ion, they are difficult to treat and cause secondary
pollution. Low cost adsorbents like orange peels, banana peels, tea waste and bone char
have been a matter of interest for the past few years. However, these low cost adsorbents...
M.Sc. (Chemistry)