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1- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Abstract: (35 Views)
Background: Fluoride in drinking water at high concentrations causes dental and skeletal fluorosis. Ion exchange resins are effective for fluoride removal, but require improved efficiency. This study aimed to modify the surface of an anion exchange resin with alginate and evaluate its fluoride removal performance.
Methods: The resin was surface-modified using alginate via calcium crosslinking. XRD, FTIR, and SEM analyzed adsorbent characteristics. Batch experiments were optimized using Box-Behnken design. Kinetics and isotherms were evaluated using pseudo-first/second-order and Langmuir/Freundlich models. Regenerability was tested over five cycles.
Results: Analyses confirmed the successful immobilization of alginate nanoparticles (average size 24.5 nm) onto the resin surface. The optimal conditions were pH 5.0, initial fluoride 7.0 mg/L, and contact time 68 min, resulting in 94.9% removal efficiency and 13.7 mg/g adsorption capacity. Fluoride adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics (R² = 0.9997) and the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.999), with a theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of 36 mg/g. The modified resin showed an approximately 13% loss in efficiency after five cycles.
Conclusion: Surface modification of the ion exchange resin with alginate is an effective, biocompatible, and cost-efficient method to enhance fluoride removal from water, with suitable stability over consecutive cycles.
Methods: The resin was surface-modified using alginate via calcium crosslinking. XRD, FTIR, and SEM analyzed adsorbent characteristics. Batch experiments were optimized using Box-Behnken design. Kinetics and isotherms were evaluated using pseudo-first/second-order and Langmuir/Freundlich models. Regenerability was tested over five cycles.
Results: Analyses confirmed the successful immobilization of alginate nanoparticles (average size 24.5 nm) onto the resin surface. The optimal conditions were pH 5.0, initial fluoride 7.0 mg/L, and contact time 68 min, resulting in 94.9% removal efficiency and 13.7 mg/g adsorption capacity. Fluoride adsorption followed pseudo-second-order kinetics (R² = 0.9997) and the Langmuir isotherm model (R² = 0.999), with a theoretical maximum adsorption capacity of 36 mg/g. The modified resin showed an approximately 13% loss in efficiency after five cycles.
Conclusion: Surface modification of the ion exchange resin with alginate is an effective, biocompatible, and cost-efficient method to enhance fluoride removal from water, with suitable stability over consecutive cycles.
Keywords: Ion exchange resin, Surface modification, Alginate, Fluoride removal, Adsorption, Optimization
Type of Study: Original Article |
Subject:
Environmental Health, Sciences, and Engineering
Received: 2026/07/1 | Accepted: 2026/09/2
Received: 2026/07/1 | Accepted: 2026/09/2
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