Fluoride Removal from Aqueous Solution Using Thermally Treated Pyrophyllite as Adsorbent

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the removal of fluoride using thermally treated pyrophyllite as adsorbent.Sorption experiments were conducted under batch conditions to examine the effects of adsorbent dose, reaction time, initial fluoride concentration and solution pH on fluoride removal. In the experiments, the pyrophyllite thermally treated at different temperatures [untreated (P-U), 400℃ (P-400), 600℃ (P-600)] were used. Results showed that the adsorption capacity was in the order of P-400 > P-U > P-600. The XRD analysis indicated that both P-U and P-400 were composed of quartz, dickite and pyrophyllite while P-600 was quartz. The BET analysis showed that the specific surface area was in the order of P-600 > P-400 > P-U. Kinetic data showed that fluoride sorption to P-400 arrived at equilibrium around 24 h. Equilibrium test demonstrated that the maximum sorption capacity of P-400 was 0.957 mg/g. In addition, fluoride removal by P-400 was not sensitive to solution pH between 4 and 10. However, fluoride removal decreased considerably at highly acidic (pH < 4) and alkaline (pH > 10) conditions. This study demonstrates that pyrophyllite could be used as a low-cost adsorbent for fluoride removal from aqueous solution.