Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
17.8 Future Prospects and Outlook
Deluoridation of water is one of the most important and urgent issues facing our soci-
ety today. Although many of the beneits of the existing deluoridation program are
questionable, nevertheless, there are several success stories with regard to deluori-
dation technologies as well as luorosis mitigation. It appears that several technologi-
cal developments will ultimately lead to the adequate handling of this water-related
health problem. This justiies the requirement of a variety of deluoridation solutions
for widespread applications. Some of the challenges and opportunities in nanoscience
and chemical engineering are expected to bring further technological advancements in
deluoridation.
As discussed in this review, the surface of the materials could be modiied in many
ways to express speciic functional groups, which promoted the deluoridation potential.
In particular, biogenic and biomaterial-based composites can provide a high surface alu-
minol concentration, which facilitates a wide variety of surface reactions. Consequently,
introduction of functional groups on the different matrices, i.e., engineering materials, by
incorporation of speciic functional groups for targeted applications is a developing area
for water treatment. To increase the eficiency of materials, however, preservation of the
materials' intrinsic activity is a necessary consideration. Therefore, more examples can
be expected in the near future. Further elaboration of this ield is also expected to lead to
the creation of powerful strategies for nanomaterial synthesis and novel technologies that
combine several methods.
The versatility of nanomaterial size, shape, and morphology introduces unique proper-
ties to nanomaterial-based water treatment systems, making it possible for researchers
to develop a revolutionary class of materials and molecules that differ from traditional
and conventional water treatment systems in terms of preparation, removal eficiency, and
application potential. We anticipate that the development of nanomaterials-based water
treatment requires input from diverse and multidisciplinary ields such as chemistry, bio-
chemistry, physics, molecular biology, and material science.
There is a continued demand to develop robust technology to handle large volumes
of water with luctuating concentrations of coexisting anions and cations. Engineering
issues particularly related to minimization of operation and maintenance requirements
are of special signiicance for ield applications. New routes to deluoridation based on
constructed wetland systems are also proposed to be explored. Approaches like IFM
are proving to be effective for luorosis mitigation, which is the main objective related to
deluoridation of water. This approach has clearly highlighted the importance of many
other parameters for luorosis mitigation.
17.9 Su m m a r y
Owing to continuously increasing stress on groundwater sources, luoride will be one of
the critical issues, especially for rural water management. Different approaches would
be required depending on input water quality as well as other practical considerations.
However, deluoridation of water is an essential approach to be practiced in future. It will
be essential to adopt several deluoridation technologies to achieve the goal of attaining
