Insight into the ion exchange in the adsorptive removal of fluoride by doped polypyrrole from water

Construction of HAnW-based nanotwigs for removing inorganic fluorion in wastewater

The environmental pollution with fluoride compounds was currently being paid more and more attention as it threatens the safety of animal and human life in an ecosystem. In this study, an eco-friendly adsorbing material for removing fluoride ion (F^-) was prepared by hydroxyapatite nanowires (HAnWs), a typical biocompatible inorganic conjugates. UiO66, a typical zirconium-based metal-organic framework (MOF), was conjugated onto HAnW by a simple in situ hydrothermal reaction, which afforded a novel HAnW-based nanotwigs of conjugates like millet (UiO66@HAnWs). Being characterized by SEM, EDS, FT-IR, XRD, XPS, and TGA, the obtained UiO66@HAnWs were applied to removing F^- in wastewater, and its adsorption capacity was optimized. It was found that UiO66@HAnWs had a bigger specific surface area (115.310 m²/g), and its efficiency for removing F^- got to 99.3%, which was greatly improved than that of related materials. It was considered that the adsorption of F^- on UiO66@HAnWs was mainly multi-molecular layer adsorption, which fluoride ions aggregate on the Zr(IV) active sites to attain ligand switching, and the nanoconjugated structure like nanotwigs of millet greatly improved its adsorption capacity. In summary, a novel eco-friendly UiO66@HAnWs with nanoconjugated structure could be constructed by simple hydrothermal method, which the agglomeration defects of MOFs were not only ameliorated, but also its adsorption capacity was greatly improved.

Strategic optimization of phase-selective thermochemically amended terra-firma originating from excavation-squander for geogenic fluoride adsorption: a combined experimental and in silico approach

An inimitable adsorbent "FI-TM-BWCC," emanated from meta-phase-selective thermochemical modulation of excavation-squander (mine waste)-derived terra-firma (blackish white china clay, i.e., BWCC), is explored in the present work for fluoride (F^-) adsorption purpose. FI-TM-BWCC portrayed an excellent adsorption efficiency (95% removal capacity and Q_e: 99 mg/g, at initial adsorbate dose: 10 mg/L, pH: 7±0.5, adsorbent dosage: ~600 mg, exposure time: 60 min). At identical experimental conditions, the F^- scavenging phenomenon was superior than two analogous adsorbents: (i) biopolymer chitosan and glutaraldehyde cross-linked BWCC (CG@BWCC, wherein F^- removal efficiency: 74%) and (ii) meta-phase-selective thermally moduled BWCC (TM-BWCC, removal efficiency: 75%). BWCC predominantly comprises kaolinite and a trace amount of anatase along with prime elemental compositions: 41.71% Al₂O₃, 49.80 % SiO₂, 4.25% Fe₂O₃, and 3.93% TiO₂, as revealed by PXRD and XRF analyses. The thermochemical modulation pathway significantly escalated the BET surface area of BWCC (~11.92 m²/g, avg. pore radius: 23.64 Å, i.e., mesoporous in nature) to FI-TM-BWCC (216.95 m²/g, avg. pore radius: 31.41 Å). The fluoride-adsorbed F^-•••FI-TM-BWCC species revealed a reduced surface area of 21.5 m²/g, which was explained in the light of ion exchange pathway on FI-TM-BWCC's non-uniform surface (surface roughness/S_A of 1597 nm, reduced to 1179 nm after F^- uptake). The spontaneous F^-•••FI-TM-BWCC interaction (ΔG⁰ = -6.25 kJ) occurred following chemisorption-controlled ion exchange (CCIE) pathway as appearance of a F1s band at 685.5 eV was rationalized for Si-F bond formation; corroborating pseudo second-order (PSO) kinetics and resembling Freundlich isotherm. The usefulness of FI-TM-BWCC was diversified through field validation with natural groundwater specimens and proposition of a gravity-fed defluoridation unit. The flow rate was documented to be ~11 liters per hour (LPH) by implementing viscous turbulence fluent model. The experimental findings certainly followed the premise conventions of sustainability metrics upholding socio-economic equipoise.

Rapid and enhanced adsorptive mitigation of groundwater fluoride by Mg(OH)2 nanoflakes

Fluoride is one of the most abundant anions in groundwater, posing a significant threat to the safe drinking water supply worldwide. Fluoride contamination in drinking water at levels greater than 1.5 mg L^-1 causes a variety of serious health problems. To address this problem, the current study deals with the synthesis of Mg(OH)₂ nanoflakes by a facile and simple hydrothermal method in the absence of any added template. The sizes of these nanoflakes are in the range of 90 to 200 nm. These nanoflakes are pure and crystalline, possessing hexagonal phase structures. The surface areas of Mg(OH)₂ nanoflakes are varying from 75.8 to 108.1 m² g^-1. These Mg(OH)₂ nanoflakes exhibit excellent adsorption performance for fluoride over a pH range of 2.0 to 9.0 with a maximum Langmuir adsorption capacity of 3129 mg g^-1 at pH 7.0 at 313 K which is the highest for such kind of adsorbent reported so far. The adsorption process is spontaneous and endothermic which primarily follows pseudo-second-order kinetics. The adsorbent is effective in the presence of co-existing anions and is reusable up to the fifth cycle with a minimal loss of adsorption performance. The nanoflakes can effectively remove highly concentrated groundwater fluoride to a permissible limit within a short time which increases the versatility of using these nanoflakes for practical applications.

Application of polypyrrole-based adsorbents in the removal of fluoride: a review

When fluoride levels in water exceed permitted limits (>1.5 mg L−1), water pollution becomes a major concern to humans.