Defluoridation studies using graphene oxidebased nanoadsorbents

Abstract

The groundwater of many developed and developing countries including India has reported excessive fluoride concentrations. Various technologies are being used to remove fluoride from water but still the problem has remained unsolved. Among the available different technologies, adsorption is one of the best methods due to its easy handling, high efficiency, and lower cost. Adsorption technique with the application of nanoadsorbents has become more efficient, as the adsorption capacity is found to increase significantly due to the large surface area provided by the nanoparticles. Since the last few years, nanomaterial-related technologies have gained much attention in the field of water treatment.

The previous studies have discussed the possible mechanism for fluoride ion adsorption on nanoparticles. This chapter discusses the possibility of magnesium oxide nanoparticles as adsorbents for the removal of fluoride from wastewater.

This chapter demonstrated the use of modified Hummers' method for synthesizing nano-magnesium oxide (n-MgO) and nanocomposites (n-MgO-coated GOs). The developed adsorbents were characterized using various methods such as FTIR, XRD, SEM-EDX, TEM, etc. The effect of various influencing parameters such as initial pH, initial fluoride concentration, adsorbent dosage, and contact time on fluoride adsorption using developed adsorbents was studied. This chapter demonstrated the efficient removal of fluoride ions from aqueous solution using n-MgO and nanocomposites.