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Removal of excess fluoride from groundwater using natural coagulant Moringa oleifera Lam and microfiltration
Author(s) -
da Conceição Vinicíus Masquetti,
Ambrosio Ugri Miriam Carla Bonicontro,
Silveira Carole,
Nishi Letícia,
Vieira Marcelo Fernandes,
de Jesus Bassetti Fátima,
Vieira Angélica Marquetotti Salcedo,
Bergamasco Rosângela
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.22101
Subject(s) - turbidity , fluoride , microfiltration , chemistry , moringa , coagulation , pulp and paper industry , groundwater , flocculation , water treatment , wastewater , environmental engineering , environmental chemistry , chromatography , membrane , environmental science , food science , inorganic chemistry , geology , biochemistry , psychology , oceanography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , psychiatry , engineering
The consumption of water that has a high level of fluoride can result in dental or skeletal fluorosis, which causes changes in the teeth and bones. Thus, this study aimed to verify the efficiency of the reduction of fluoride in groundwater using coagulation with extracts of Moringa oleifera Lam seeds (MO) combined with microfiltration. Coagulation/flocculation tests were carried out in Jar test with different concentrations of the coagulant and subsequent treatment of water by microfiltration membranes. The concentration of fluoride in water was adjusted to 5 mgF ‐ /L and pH set to 7.0. The test used 1.5 g/L of the coagulant MO, for a 3 mgF ‐ /L initial concentration of fluoride and pH 3.0 proved effective for the removal of fluoride, colour, and turbidity of water with residual amounts of 1.07 mgF ‐ /L, 19 mgPt‐Co/L, and 3 NTU, respectively. The best results were obtained using 5 g/L of the coagulant MO and 2 bar pressure in the microfiltration step. Under these conditions, the final water quality complies with the recommendations of the Brazilian legislation, with residual fluoride at 1.2 mgF ‐ /L, 1.56 NTU turbidity and 8.56 mgPt‐Co/L colour. These results indicate the potential of the proposed treatment and that this represents an alternative for reducing excessive fluoride from water by combining the use of a natural and biodegradable coagulant with microfiltration processes, which contributes to the final quality of water.