7. Utilization of Inexpensive Bio-sorbents for Water Defluoridation

Groundwater contamination with excess fluoride concentration is a serious concern for various nations around the world. Consumption of drinking water with excess fluoride poses a serious threat to human health through dental/skeletal fluorosis. Therefore, defluoridation of water has attracted global attention and different techniques have been developed to ensure its safety for human consumption. However, the higher operating costs and low efficiency of these techniques make them difficult to use for field applications. Among the various techniques for water defluoridation. Adsorption is widely adopted as a result of its low cost, ease of availability, easy utilization, high efficiency, and simple physical technique. Although activated carbon has been widely used for the removal of various contaminants, including fluoride, it is sometimes restricted due to its higher cost. Recently, efforts to develop low-cost adsorbents from waste materials have led to the development of bio-sorbents from plants and animal waste that have shown considerable potential for water defluoridation. The main emphasis of this chapter is to gather in-depth knowledge concerning the utilization of inexpensive adsorbents for water defluoridation.