An Experimental Study on Biosorption of Fluoride from Water Using LocallyObtained Moringa Oleifera Seeds

Abstract

Moringa Oleifera is considered to be a natural bio-adsorbent. Unlike chemical coagulants, Moringa Oleifera seeds are environment friendly with various other advantages. The present study investigated the fluoride removal efficiency of Moringa Oleifera from water. Influence of adsorbent dose (1, 2, 4 g/L), contact time (20, 40 and 60 min) and initial fluoride concentration (2 and 5 mg/L) over removal efficiency were determined and optimized. It was found that increased adsorbent dose and contact time enhanced the removal efficiency which is in agreement with the previous studies. The highest removal of 88.1% was achieved when the adsorbent dose and contact time were optimized to 4 g/L and 60 minutes with an initial fluoride concentration of 2 mg/L. The results showed that Moringa Oleifera can be used as an environment friendly, cheap and effective bio-adsorbent for fluoride removal from aqueous solution. All the experimental facilities were provided by Bio-Fuel Lab, Energy & Environment Department, Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, Nawabshah, Pakistan. The samples were analyzed at the Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR), Tando Jam, Pakistan.