Coconut shell derived coal as low-cost adsorbent for the fluoride removal from drinking water

Abstract

Fluoride in drinking water pose several health issues such as fluorosis, thyroid problems, neurological problems and fluoride poisoning. Amongst several approaches adsorption is one of a better low-cost technique. Present study focused on the use of granular coal made up of coconut shell as adsorbent for the fluoride removal from drinking water. The batch adsorption study conducted to study effect of fluoride concentration (2-10 mg/L), adsorbent dosage (2-10 g/L), pH (4-8), and contact time (0-120 min) on adsorption performance. Maximum adsorption of 1.37 mg/g was observed at pH of 5.9, adsorbent dose of 2 g/L, at 60 min of contact time. Furthermore, the data was fitted in Langmuir and Freundlich model and also modelled in the Artificial Neural Network (ANN). ANN shows a better modelling with coefficient of correlation about 98% and close to zero mean square error. The study indicates that coconut shell's coal easy to prepare at rural locations and would be a low-cost adsorbent.