Development of Kaolin Clay as a Cost-Effective Technology for Defluoridation of Groundwater

Excessive fluoride in potable groundwater is a serious health problem in rural areas of many developing countries. The presence of a small amount of fluoride in potable water is beneficial to human health, but a high amount (>1.5 mg/L) has adverse effects. The present study is aimed to prepare a new cost-effective adsorbent of kaolin clay that can be used as a valuable defluoridating agent. Characterization of the prepared adsorbent was carried out using DSC, FTIR, TGA, and XRD. Also, the surface area of the adsorbent was measured by BET analysis. The clay was activated with concentrated H2SO4, and the effects of various experimental parameters such as temperature (25, 40, 50, and 60°C), pH (2, 4, 6, and 8), particle size (