DEFLUORIDATION OF DRINKING WATER IN BATCH AND CONTINUOUS-FLOW ELECTROCOAGULATION SYSTEMSJ. MANOJ BABU AND SUDHA GOELAbstract The objective of this study was to evaluate fluoride removal from drinking water using electrocoagulation (EC) in batch or continuous-flow reactors under different operating conditions. Effects of varying applied voltage, initial concentration and initial pH on fluoride removal efficiencies were evaluated using mild steel electrodes. Results for distilled water and ground water were compared. Maximum F removal efficiencies from distilled water were 84.9 % and 79.4% in batch and continuous mode, respectively for the highest applied voltage of 25 V. Removal efficiencies from ground water were 79.6% and 28.7% in batch and continuous mode, respectively. At low F concentrations of 10 mg/L and initial pH ranging from 5 to 10, the final pH ranged from 6.35 to 7.96, highlighting the advantage of EC over conventional coagulation for drinking water treatment. Maximum F removal efficiency of 84.9% was observed at an initial pH of 6.42. Increasing fluoride concentrations from 20 mg/L to 50 mg/L resulted in an increase in pH irrespective of the applied voltage. As expected, an increase in initial F concentrations resulted in decreased F removal efficiencies. These results demonstrate the importance of initial F concentrations on both, final pH of the treated water and F removal efficiencies.
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