Product development of affordable fluoride treatment through enhancements in precipitation and adsorption methods
Student name: Mr Ashray Tyagi
Guide: Ms Fawzia Tarannum
Year of completion: 2016
Host Organisation: Development Alternatives, New Delhi
Abstract: Groundwater is one of the major source of water supply in India, and especially in rural parts
due to the absence of abundant surface water in many states. In many areas, groundwater
quality does not conform to the BIS standards. The problem of fluoride in the groundwater
has risen drastically from the past 10 years, 19 Indian states have been affected by fluorosis, a
health problem. Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are the
worst affected. Quantity of 1.0 mg/l or less of fluoride in water helps in dental caries and is
essential for the human body, but concentrations above 1.0 mg/l leads to dental and skeletal
fluorosis and other adverse effects on reproductive system. Though there are various methods
for defluoridation based on various chemical reactions and processes, most of them are
cumbersome to perform, some are expensive, some are out of reach for the rural populace
and some are simply not adaptable in different situations. To address the issue of high
concentration of fluoride in the water resources, especially groundwater, and considering the
dependence of a large populace on it, development alternatives has come up with an idea of
development of a powder-form water purifier which will perform defluoridation in minimum
amount of time at an affordable cost.
Keywords: Defluoridation, coagulation, Nalgonda Technique, fluorosis.
