Defluoridation of Drinking Water and Rainwater Harvesting Using a Solar Still

Anjaneyulu, L and Kumar, Arun E and Sankannavar, Ravi and Rao, Kesava K (2012) Defluoridation of Drinking Water and Rainwater Harvesting Using a Solar Still. In: INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH, 51 (23). pp. 8040-8048.

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Abstract

When people drink water having a fluoride (F-) concentration >1-1.5 mg/L for a long period of time, various ailments that are collectively referred to as fluorosis occur. Based on the design of Thomas (http://www.planetkerala.org), an inclined basin-type solar still containing sand and water has been used at Bangalore for defluoridation. For water samples having a fluoride concentration in the range 5-20 mg/L, the fluoride concentration in the distillate was usually <1.5 mg/L. During the periods October 2006 May 2007 and October 2007 May 2008, the volume of distillate showed a significant diurnal variation, ranging from 0.3 to 4.0 L/m(2).day. Based on the figures for 2006, the cost of the still was about Rs. 850 (US$16) for collector areas in the range 0.50-0.57 m(2). The occurrence of F- in the distillate merits further investigation. Overall, the still effectively removes F-, but a large area of the collector, in the range 2.5-25 m(2), is needed to produce about 10 L of distilled water for cooking and drinking. Rainwater falling on the upper surface of the still was collected, and its fluoride concentration was found to be below the desirable limit of 1 mg/L. Hence it can also be used for cooking and drinking.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	INDUSTRIAL & ENGINEERING CHEMISTRY RESEARCH
Publisher:	AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Additional Information:	Copyright for this article belongs to the AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Chemical Engineering
Date Deposited:	17 Jul 2012 11:26
Last Modified:	17 Jul 2012 11:26
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/44798

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