Bio-adsorbent hydroxyapatite for drinking water defluoridation: column performance modelling studies.

Waste marble powder (WMP) is a rich source of calcium and magnesium salts having an affinity for fluoride ions and therefore serves as a good defluoridation agent. Hydroxyapatite was synthesized from WMP generated by the marble processing industry to make an adsorbent for drinking water defluoridation. The synthesized marble hydroxyapatite (MA-Hap LR) powder was further formed into 2-3 mm pellets by extrusion spheronization technique using a polyvinyl alcohol binder. Continuous column defluoridation studies were conducted to obtain optimized column parameters such as input fluoride concentration, column inflow rates, optimum pellet size, and adsorbent bed parameters to obtain maximum fluoride adsorption capacity. The best breakthrough column performance was a maximum adsorption capacity of 1.21 mg/g, treating 10 mg/L fluoride concentration. The optimized column flow rate was at 1 LPH using an adsorbent bed height of 25 cm, which processed 28.5-bed volumes at an adsorbent exhaustion rate of 7.4 g/L. The column breakthrough performance data were fit into various kinetic models (Thomas model and Yoon-Nelson model) to describe adsorption kinetics and obtain correlation coefficients. Thomas's model fitted well with a high correlation coefficient value. Modelling studies indicate MA-Hap as a promising adsorbent for drinking water treatment, and optimum column design parameters were identified for scale-up for real applications.

In-vitro synthesis of marble apatite as a novel adsorbent for removal of fluoride ions from ground water: An ultrasonic approach.

Marble waste powder consisting of calcium and magnesium compounds was used to synthesize a novel biocompatible product, marble apatite (MA) primarily hydroxyapatite (Hap) for applications in defluoridation of drinking water. Synthesis of marble apatite was carried out by using calcium compounds (mixture of hydroxide and nitrate) extracted from marble waste powder which was treated with potassium dihydrogen phosphate at 80°C under alkaline conditions using conventional precipitation method (CM) and ultrasonication method (USM). Qualitative analysis of synthesized marble apatite from both the methods was carried out using FTIR, phase analysis by XRD and microstructure analysis by SEM and TEM. When ultrasonication (USM) method was used, the yield of marble apatite was improved from 67.5% to 78.4%, with reduction in crystallite size (58.46nm), lesser agglomeration and comparatively well-defined spherical morphology compared to the CM method. Studies also include estimation of the defluoridation capacity of MA as an adsorbent for drinking water treatment and effects of process parameters such as pH, contact time, initial fluoride concentration, dosage and presence of other co-ions on fluoride removal capacity. The results showed that the experimental adsorption capacity of the marble apatite synthesized using USM method was significantly higher (1.826mg/g) than marble apatite synthesized using conventional method (0.96mg/g) at pH 7 with a contact time of 90min. The mechanism of adsorption was studied, and it was observed that Langmuir isotherm model fitted best to the experimental data, while the kinetic studies revealed that the process followed pseudo-second order model. This novel compound, marble apatite synthesized from marble waste powder is found to be promising for defluoridation of drinking water and will help in alleviating the problems of fluorosis as well as reduce the problems of disposal of marble waste.

Synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanorods for application in water defluoridation and optimization of process variables: Advantage of ultrasonication with precipitation method over conventional method.

This research work presents the synthesis of hydroxyapatite (Hap) nanorods for defluoridation of drinking water by using both conventional (CM) and ultrasonication with precipitation (USPM) methods. Calcium nitrate was reacted with potassium phosphate in presence of ammonia for controlled pH to synthesize Hap nanorods, which was characterized using FTIR, XRD, SEM, TG-DTA, and TEM/EDS for determining its phase composition, structural and thermal decomposition behavior. When USPM method was used for synthesis, the yield of the Hap nanorods was improved from 83.24±1.0% to 90.2±1.0%, and complete phase transformation occurred with formation of elongated Hap nanorods. Effects of process parameters such as solution pH, contact time and adsorbent dose were studied through response surface methodology (RSM). A simple quadratic model was developed using Central Composite Design (CCD) and optimum parameters for fluoride adsorption process were determined to be pH 7, contact time 3h and adsorbent dose 7g/L for maximum removal capacity. Fluoride removal efficiency was predicted to be 93.64% which was very close to the experimental value obtained at 92.86% using ultrasonically prepared Hap. Fluoride adsorption isotherms fitted the Freundlich isotherm with an adsorption capacity of 1.49mg/g, while the kinetic studies revealed that the process followed pseudo-second order model. The treated water quality parameters such as residual fluoride, calcium leached, total hardness and alkalinity was investigated, and it was observed that all these parameters were within the permissible limits as per WHO and BIS standards.