Moringa oleifera: a sustainable method to treat fluoride-contaminated water

Abstract

Excessive fluoride (F) is introduced into the water either by natural phenomenon or by industrial effluents. However, F in adequate amounts is necessary for sustaining good dental health. Contrarily, F concentrations in drinking water surpassing 1.5 mg/L may, nevertheless, be harmful to human health. F pollution in drinking water is a serious and challenging problem that affects people all over the world. Adsorption appears to be an effective, environmentally beneficial, and cost-effective approach to eliminating excessive F from drinking water in the present day. In this study, Moringa oleifera seed powder was employed as a natural adsorbent for defluoridation. The maximum removal efficiency was achieved for water with pH of 7.0, 1 mg/L of initial F concentration, contact time of 120 min, and adsorbent dose of 200 mg/L. SEM and FTIR were used to determine the structure, morphology, and other chemical composition features of the prepared M. oleifera seed powder. This work is anticipated to be readily implemented in real-time F elimination.