Construction and optimisation of a cartridge filter for removing fluoride in drinking water

Abstract

An attempt has been made to construct a cartridge to be used for the defluoridation of drinking water. The cartridge packed with bone char material could be fixed onto a domestic faucet as a flow through defluoridizer. PVC cartridges of various sizes were made from a ¾ inch pipe. The efficiency of fluoride removal was determined for the following parameters: cartridge length, flow rate of water, compactness of bone char material and particle size with the aim of determining the optimum conditions for a good cartridge. It was found that the optimal conditions for the F^- filter that gave the best results in removing of F^- from water with minimum inconvenience were: particle size, 0.2 mm mean diameter; the flow rate, equal or less than 20 mL/min; cartridge length, 10 cm filled with 20 g of bone char material.

KEY WORDS: Bone char, PVC cartridge, Batch defluoridation, Flow-through defluoridation, Defluoridation efficiency

Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2004, 18(1), 1-6.