REMOVAL OF FLUORIDE FROM DRINKING WATER Eliminacin de flor en agua potable.

M Pin-Miramontes, 2S Payn-Gmez, 2A Prez-Hernndez

ABSTRACT. The use of a coagulant (Poly Cat HCF 955) for removing fluoride (F) from drinking water has been applied on jar tests for one well (No.1) at Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. Experiments revealed that fluoride concentrations may be removed up to 41 % in order to comply with the Mexican national standard for drinking water. The removal efficiency of fluoride was found to be dependent on coagulant dosage. The cost of treating 14.4 m3/d was estimated to be 0.225 US Dollars/m3. INTRODUCTION. The fluoride (F) concentrations in groundwater are widespread in the arid to semi-arid north states of Mexico (Chihuahua, Sonora, Coahuila, Zacatecas, San Luis Potosi, Baja California, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Len). Fluoride and Arsenic are the two main contaminants in groundwater present naturally in Mexico, causing a set of health symptoms known commonly as fluorosis and arsenicosis respectively. For many rural areas where hand-pumps and tube-wells are the only source of safe drinking water, these two contaminants have emerged to cause a serious crisis threatening public health. In groundwater, the natural concentration of fluoride depends on the geogical, chemical and physical characteristics of the aquifer, the porosity and acidity of the soil and rocks, the temperature, the action of the other chemical elements, and the depth of the aquifer (Babu et al. 2004; Das et al. 2003).

MATERIALS AND METHODS. The groundwater used in this study was obtained from one well at Chihuahua, City which is located at the north of Mexico City. Jar tests were performed (using 1-L glass beakers) to study the effect of coagulant in the treatment of F in wells No. 1. For the test, six jars were placed in a palette-stirred mixer (Phipps and Bird, Richmond, VA) and filled with one litter of the groundwater tested. Different amounts of coagulant were gradually added to each jar and mixed at 40 rpm for 15 minutes and finally 15 minutes of quiescent settling. The treated groundwater was filtered using Whatman No. 2. The coagulant Poly Cat HCF 955 used is developed with alumina (22 %) and ferric chloride (5 %) (Cintica Qumica Co., Monterrey N.L. Mxico). The F concentration was measured following the procedure S.M. 4500-F outlined in the Standard Methods (Clesceri et al. 1999). For this determination, an Orion specific ion meter model 720 A equipped with both fluoride and reference electrode was employed, having a linear range of 0.1 - 3 mg/L. RESULTS. The jar test results show the effect of coagulant dosage on the corresponding residual F concentration from well No. 1. From these tests, it can be seen that an increase in coagulant dosage resulted in a decrease in residual F concentration. The fluoride removed was only dependent on the

Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento de Chihuahua (JMAS) Per. Ortiz Mena y Politcnico Nacional S/N Chihuahua, Chih. Mxico 31350. e-mail: pinonmanuel@yahoo.com.mx 2 Centro de Investigacin en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV) Miguel de Cervantes # 120 Chihuahua, Chih. 31109 Mxico.

coagulant dosage rather than the pH conditions. The treatment system was designed for a volumetric flow rate of 14.4 m3/d, having a total investment of 9100 US Dollar. The initial stage of the process consisted on add 250 mg of coagulant Poly Cat HCF 955, per liter of groundwater to be treated. Afterwards, for a 14.4 m3/d treatment capacity, the coagulation process took place in a settling chamber for about 1 hour followed by filtration in one bed made of Operation and maintenance costs per cubic meter treated water for this system it was 0.22 US$/m3, were also estimated and compared to other treatment systems like activated alumina (0.64 US$/m3) and reverse osmosis (0.49 US$/m3). Clearly, the proposed treatment system becomes the best economical option among the compared treatments. CONCLUSIONS Some hydroxylated aluminum complex formed in the precipitation of coagulant Poly Cat HCF 955 has been suggested to combine with precipitates, in order to remove the F ion along with the flocculated material by adsorption because the fluoride ions are adsorbed into the diffuse layer of the coagulant (CEPIS 1973). The sludge production of coagulation process, a gravel-silica sand bed filter was found to be cost effective treatment tool. The removal of fluoride from drinking water was found to be very effective by using the coagulant Poly Cat HCF 955. The amount of coagulant influenced the fluoride removal efficiency during the coagulation process. The removal of fluoride from drinking water was found to be very effective by using the coagulant Poly Cat HCF 955. The amount of coagulant influenced the fluoride removal efficiency during the coagulation process. In
1

comparison to activated alumina and reverse osmosis, the coagulation-filtration process proposed in this investigation was found to be a cost-effective treatment method that also meets the MCL established in national standards. REFERENCES Babu P, Gonnade G., Bhai HY, Sinha M (2004) Fluoride contamination in ground water in Ghatanji Taluka, Yavatmal District, Maharashtra, in Proceedings of Workshop on Medical Geology IGCP 454, Geological Survey of India, Special Publication No. 83. Das B, Talukdar J, Sarma S, Gohain B, Dutta RK, Das HB, Das SC (2003) Fluoride and other inorganic constituents in groundwater of Guwahati, Assam, India, Current Science, 85( 5): 657-661 CEPIS (1973) Teora, diseo y control de los procesos de clarificacin del agua. (Theory, design and control on water process clarification) In: Destabilizacin de las partculas coloidales (coagulacin). 2nd ed. Per: Centro Panamericano de Ingeniera Sanitaria del Ambiente p.37-73. Clesceri L, Greenberg A, Eaton A (1998) Standards Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater. 20th ed. Washington D.C: AWWA, APHA, WPCF.

Junta Municipal de Agua y Saneamiento de Chihuahua (JMAS) Per. Ortiz Mena y Politcnico Nacional S/N Chihuahua, Chih. Mxico 31350. e-mail: pinonmanuel@yahoo.com.mx 2 Centro de Investigacin en Materiales Avanzados, S.C. (CIMAV) Miguel de Cervantes # 120 Chihuahua, Chih. 31109 Mxico.