Application of Nanotechnology in Water Research

Chapter 11

Removal of Fluoride from Potable Water Using Smart Nanomaterial as Adsorbent

Dinesh Kumar* and Vaishali Tomar

Department of Chemistry, Banasthali University, Banasthali Vidyapeeth, Rajasthan, India

*Corresponding author: [e-mail]

Abstract

Fluoride contamination in drinking water has been recognized as one of the major problems worldwide, imposing a serious threat to human health. Nanotechnology has emerged as a promising technology in the past decade in various fields. Likewise, the use of nanoparticles as sorbents for water treatment has also gained wide attention in recent years. Among several treatment technologies applied for fluoride removal, the adsorption process has been widely explored and offers satisfactory results, especially with nanomaterials like carbon nanotubes, carbon nanotubes as a support to deposit Al₂O_3, nanoscale aluminium oxide as sorbent, granular form of Fe-Al-Ce, hydrous aluminum oxide embedded with Fe₃O₄ nanoparticle, etc., and their adsorption capacities under various conditions (pH, initial fluoride concentration, temperature, contact time, adsorbent surface charge, etc.). It is evident from a survey of the literature that various nanoadsorbents have shown very good potential for the removal of fluoride. Therefore, this article gives an overview of the use of nanomaterials in water purification with illustrative examples of nanomaterials, whose properties are of great interest in the detection and removal of key contaminants ...