Tea Ash-A New Medium for Water Defluoridation Deshmukh Manjiri A1, Dodamani Arun S2, Karibasappa Gundabakhta N3, Khairnar Mahesh R4, Naik Rahul G2, Jadhav Harish C2 1Department of Public Health Dentistry, Swargiya Dadasaheb Kalmegh Smruti Dental College, Nagpur 2Department of Public Health Dentistry, ACPM Dental College and Hospital, Dhule 3Department of Public Health Dentistry, DY Patil Dental School, Pune 4Department of Public Health Dentistry, Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University Dental College and Hospital, Sangli Online published on 7 February, 2018. Abstract Background Fluorosis being irreversible should be prevented by providing water with optimal fluoride concentration. Due to certain limitations of routinely used defluoridation methods, exploration of indigenous products for the prevention of fluorosis calls for. Hence the study was designed with an aim to compare the defluoridation efficacy of tea ash in water at various concentrations. Materials & Method Specifically treated tea residue was used. Fluoride level was measured using fluoride ion selective electrode at National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), Nagpur, India. Testing samples of 2 different particle sizes were added in 50ml of water containing 4ppm of fluoride. The concentration of fluoride remaining in the filtrate was analyzed after 60 and 90 minutes and 24 hours. Following initial results, varying quantities of tea ash (105 μm) were added in 50ml of water containing fluoride of different concentrations. The concentration of fluoride remaining in the filtrate was analyzed after 30 and 60 minutes. Results Tea ash exhibited defluoridation capacity at both particle sizes. Tea ash (105μm) weighing 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5 gm was found to be effective to reduce water fluoride content from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ppm to an almost optimum fluoride concentration. Conclusion Tea ash can be advocated as an efficient, cost-effective domestic defluoridating agent. Top Keywords Adsorption, Defluoridation, Fluoride, Tea ash, Water. Top |