Fluoride removal from aqueous solution onto activated carbon of Catha edulis through the adsorption treatment technology

Background Nowadays freshwater quality deterioration and quantity depletion are rapidly increasing across the globe. Especially fluoride polluted groundwater is causing a severe shortage of water supply and public health problem. Hence, this study was designed to investigate the performance of activated carbon produced from the Catha edulis stem for the removal of fluoride from aqueous solution. A C. edulis stem sample was collected from dumping sites of Addis Ababa City and its activation and carbonation processes were performed using H2SO4 and a high temperature of 600 °C. The experimental study was designed to use a full factorial approach with a 33 which were the three factors with the three levels, namely pH (2, 7 and 9), contact times (60, 90 and 120 min) and adsorbent doses (0.5 g, 1.0 g and 1.5 g in 100 mL) at the initial fluoride concentration 30 mg/L which resulted in 81 experimental runs in triplicates.