Assessment of the Use of Epicarp and Mesocarp of Green Coconut for Removal of Fluoride Ions in Aqueous Solution

Abstract

Fruit consumption and processing result in considerable volumes of residual biomass. Transformation of this biomass into biosorbents offers an alternative for its reuse and disposal. As the green coconut shell is a waste often discarded in landfills and dumps, generating gases and leachate, two biosorbents were developed from the epicarp and mesocarp of green coconut to adsorb fluoride ions in aqueous solution. The kinetic experiments showed that sorption of fluoride ions reached equilibrium at 300 min for both epicarp and mesocarp at temperatures of 25°C, 35°C, and 45°C. The removal efficiency of fluoride ions varied from 66.25% (at 25°C) to 77.50% (at 45°C) for the epicarp and from 90% (at 25°C) to 97.50% (at 45°C) for the mesocarp. The thermodynamic parameters of the adsorption process showed that adsorption is a spontaneous, endothermic process for both biosorbents. The adsorption was classified as chemical, with the Langmuir isotherm model best suited to the adsorption isotherms data.

Novel Lanthanum Doped Magnetic Teff Straw Biochar Nanocomposite and Optimization Its Efficacy of Defluoridation of Groundwater Using RSM: A Case Study of Hawassa City, Ethiopia

“…AAS was used to assess the absorbance capacity of the centrifuged solution. e standard curve was used to calculate the residual concentration of fluoride ions [45]. Equation ( 4) was used to compute the % elimination of fluoride ions.…”

Removal of Fluorides from Aqueous Solutions Using Exhausted Coffee Grounds and Iron Sludge

“…Increased concentrations of fluoride ions in drinking water can cause various diseases, such as rachitis, neurological disorders, tendon and ligament ossification and dental diseases [4]. Very high concentrations can cause disorders of kidneys, thyroid, liver and testicles [5]. With prolonged exposure [6] at higher fluoride concentrations, dental fluorosis progresses to skeletal fluorosis (Table 1).…”