Removal of fluoride on chitosan coated alumina (CAL) from aqueous solution

CAL beads were made by dropping wise mixture of chitosan and alumina into NaOH solution. Effects of contact time, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and pH on fluoride removal were carried out by batch experiments. Results show that adsorption rate was relatively rapid in the first 6 h, thereafter distinctly decreased until adsorption reached the equilibrium within 48 h, at this time, adsorption capacity was up to 0.67 mg/g, which was much higher than raw chitosan (0.052 mg/g). Fluoride removal increased significantly with an increase of adsorbent dosage, however, it rose slowly when the adsorbent dosage was above 16 g/L. Adsorption capacity reduced from 0.75 mg/g to 0.64mg/g when solution pH rose from 4 to 7, nevertheless, adsorption was relatively independent on solution pH between 7 and 10.