Deflourination of drinking water using layered double Hydroxides

Abstract

Safe drinking water is one of the prerequisites for a healthy life. In Sri Lanka 70% of the population satisfy their water needs from ground water and as a result majority of them suffer from water related problems. One of the pertaining problems prevailing in the dry zone of Sri Lanka is the presence of elevated levels of fluoride ions in drinking water leading to many health related problems. Many studies have been carried out to address the issue however little success has been reported up to date. This study focuses on suggesting a nanotechnology based solution to deflourinate drinking water in the dry zone, Sri Lanka, for domestic water tanks or as a region water purification solution. Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) which readily undergo anion exchange reactions have been used as a suitable candidate for deflourination. The study further concentrates on the regeneration of the material after removal of fluoride ions without releasing flouride ions back in to the water cycle.