抄録
Many residents of the central north province of Sri Lanka such as Anuradhapura region suffer from fluorosis caused by drinking water with high concentration of fluoride. The ground water containing fluoride is supplied as drinking water in the region. The average concentration of fluoride is reported to be 5mg/l which is five times as high as the WHO guideline. In the current research, the removal of fluoride from water by char made from chicken bone was studied. Artificial raw water containing fluoride was contacted with char made from chicken bone and activated carbon to investigate the removal of fluoride. The char made from chicken bone absorbed fluoride efficiently, while activated carbon did not. The absorption of fluoride by char was found as a first order reaction. Assuming a first order reaction, the model calculation showed that 300g of char made from chicken bone is required to purify the contaminated water with a concentration of 10mg/l to less than 1mg/l with a flow rate of 100ml/min. 300g of char can be produced from 600g of chicken bone which is affordable for the Sri Lankan people.
