DEFLUORIDATION OF DRINKING WATER BY VARIOUS BIODEGRADABLE ADSORBENT –A REVIEW

Most of the developing countries like India depend on the groundwater as source of drinking water that may be contaminated by natural sources or by industrial effluents. One such contaminant is fluoride that possesses adverse effects on human health. When people consume water having fluoride (F– ) concentration >1–1.5 mg/L for a long period of time, various ailments that are collectively referred to as fluorosis occur. Various defluoridation technologies are being used to remove fluoride from water but still the problem has not been rooted out. This paper describes the review on the utilization of agricultural wastes, plant biomass and readily available biodegradable materials for adsorption of fluoride from aqueous solution under different experimental conditions and their practical defluoridation efficiency. Key Words: Defluoridation, coconut shelt carbon, corn cob, cashewnut shelt carbon, tamarind seed pulp, drumstick seeds.