Removal Of Fluoride From Drinking Water Using Red Mud

Abstract Red Mud is a very fine material particle size of which is generally below 7526956 and high specific surface area around10 m2gm. It is mainly composed of iron oxides and has a variety of elements and mineralogical phases. The variation in chemical composition between different red muds worldwide is high. The removal of fluoride from aqueous solution by using the original and activated red mud forms has been studied by many researchers Lopez et al. 1998. The fluoride adsorption capacity of activated form has been found to be higher than that of the original form. The adsorption is highly dependant on PH. Researches have revealed that the maximum adsorption of fluoride is at pH 5.5.For pH greater than 5.5 fluoride removal decreases sharply. The sufficient time for adsorption equilibrium of fluoride ions is 2 hrs. The possibility of removal of fluoride ion by using red mud is on the basis of the chemical nature and specific interaction with metal oxide surfaces Yunus et a1. 2002.