Methods for Optimizing Activated Materials for Removing Fluoride from Drinking Water Sources
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142, Issue 2
Abstract
This paper presents the results from amending eucalyptus wood char with the following metal salts: aluminum sulfate, aluminum chloride, iron (II) chloride, and iron (III) nitrate. The results show that amending wood char with metal salts, which precipitate from the solution as metal oxides and amend the char surfaces, increases the ability of the wood char to remove fluoride from drinking water. Wood char alone has a value of , whereas the values of the metal-amended wood chars range from 0.14 to . Iron oxide amendments resulted in greater improvements in fluoride removal capacity than aluminum oxide amendments, with values of 2.06 and for the iron oxide–amended chars and 0.57 and for the aluminum oxide–amended chars. Pretreating wood char with the oxidizing agents potassium permanganate and hydrogen peroxide increased the metal loading and fluoride removal capacities in select instances. When wood char was pretreated with potassium permanganate and amended with aluminum sulfate, the value increased from 0.14 to and the metal loading increased from 0.05 to 0.27%.
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Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. National Science Foundation that contributed partial funding to this work. This publication was developed under STAR Fellowship Assistance Agreement No. 91731301 awarded by the EPA. This work has not been formally reviewed by EPA, and the views expressed in this paper are solely those of the authors and the EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. The authors also wish to acknowledge partial funding from the University of Oklahoma WaTER Center and the Graduate College at the University of Oklahoma in support of this work.
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 142 • Issue 2 • February 2016
Copyright
© 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 15, 2015
Accepted: Aug 28, 2015
Published online: Oct 19, 2015
Published in print: Feb 1, 2016
Discussion open until: Mar 19, 2016
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