Evaluation of a Smectite Adsorption-Based Electrostatic System to Decontaminate F− Rich Thermal Waters
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Department of Mechanical, Chemical and Material Engineering, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
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Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
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School of Earth Sciences, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa 1176, Ethiopia
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Department of Civil and Environment Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
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Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering, National Research Council, 09123 Cagliari, Italy
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Laura Bulgariu
Water 2022, 14(2), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020167
Received: 7 December 2021
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Revised: 6 January 2022
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Accepted: 6 January 2022
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Published: 8 January 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Potentially Toxic Elements in Water, Air, Soil, Stream Sediments, and Crops)
Several studies have shown the presence of fluoride levels much higher than the 1.5 mg/L threshold concentration recommended by WHO in the spring waters and wells of the Ethiopian Rift Valley. Available defluoridation techniques can be costly, present complicated technical aspects, and show limited effectiveness. Therefore, it is necessary to devise innovative, sustainable, and effective solutions. This study proposes an alternative method of intervention to the known techniques for removing fluoride from water, particularly suitable for smaller rural communities. In particular, in this work, the possibility to use electromagnetic fields as a physical method for removing the excess fluoride was investigated. The study was carried out by developing a multiphysics model used for studying and envisaging the design of a device. In this framework, the combination of this approach with the use of highly reactive smectite clay was numerically studied. The results obtained, although preliminary, indicate that the proposed system could significantly impoverish the waters of the Rift Valley from fluoride, with the consequence of obtaining a resource suitable for human consumption, in particular for rural communities. However, further theoretical investigations and experimental phases will be necessary to achieve the desired results.
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Keywords:
adsorption; electric field; Ethiopian Rift Valley; fluoride; fresh water; Langmuir isotherm; smectite clay; thermal water
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MDPI and ACS Style
Fanari, F.; Lodi, M.B.; Getaneh, W.; Fanti, A.; Desogus, F.; Valera, P. Evaluation of a Smectite Adsorption-Based Electrostatic System to Decontaminate F− Rich Thermal Waters. Water 2022, 14, 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020167
AMA Style
Fanari F, Lodi MB, Getaneh W, Fanti A, Desogus F, Valera P. Evaluation of a Smectite Adsorption-Based Electrostatic System to Decontaminate F− Rich Thermal Waters. Water. 2022; 14(2):167. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020167
Chicago/Turabian StyleFanari, Fabio, Matteo B. Lodi, Worash Getaneh, Alessandro Fanti, Francesco Desogus, and Paolo Valera. 2022. "Evaluation of a Smectite Adsorption-Based Electrostatic System to Decontaminate F− Rich Thermal Waters" Water 14, no. 2: 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14020167
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