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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 March 2018
Fluoride levels in drinking water exceeding 1.5 mg/L especially underground water can be detrimental to health. Various defluoridation technologies exist such as reverse osmosis, adsorption and ion exchange. However, adsorption has been preferred over the other due to its low cost and ease of operation. In this study, a novel adsorbent nanomaterial was prepared to remove fluoride from drinking water. The influence of different parameters such as pH, contact time, co-existing ions and dosage were investigated in order to understand the sorption behaviour of the adsorbent under varying conditions. The adsorption process best fitted with the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 62.5 mg/g. The adsorbent can be used under normal water pH=7. Anions and cations had no influence on the sorption capacity except for chlorides, carbonates and bicarbonates. The adsorbent reduced fluoride concentration from 10 ppm to approximately 1.5 ppm per 50 mg nanocomposite loading as recommended by World Health Organization. The synthesized nanocomposite can be used for defluoridation of water with high fluoride concentrations beyond recommended limit.