A group of scientists from the School of Engineering at Tufts University (USA) has developed a new water filtration technology.
As reported in Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences, researchers have shown that new polymer membranes can separate fluoride from chloride and other ions twice as efficiently as previous methods. The technology could remove toxic fluoride from water, where the element is found in concentrations too high for human consumption, they said.
Scientists noted that in some sourcesIn groundwater, natural levels of fluoride are so high that they can lead to serious health problems. Long-term exposure to excess fluoride can cause fluorosis, a condition in which teeth weaken, tendons, ligaments and bones are affected. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that excessive concentrations of fluoride in drinking water have caused tens of millions of cases of dental and bone fluorosis worldwide.
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Ability to remove fluoride using relativelyan inexpensive filter membrane can protect millions of people from fluorosis. The technology does not require expensive installations: scientists do not filter water under high pressure and do not remove all components, followed by remineralization of drinking water.
"The potential of ion-selective membranes to reduceexcess fluoride in drinking water is very high,” notes Ayse Asatekin, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and co-author of the study. “But the potential usefulness of the technology goes beyond drinking water and can solve other problems. The method we used to produce the membranes is easily scalable for industrial applications.”
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