<div>Jamun, one of the most commonly available fruits in India, may soon help serve the purpose of removing fluoride from groundwater sources if an IIT-Hyderabad study has its way.<div><br /></div><div>A research team, comprising of Ramya Araga, Shantanu Soni and Chandra S Sharma, has discovered a way to turn the seeds of the Jamun (Syzygium cumini) into a carbon filter capable of significantly reducing fluoride levels in groundwater sources.</div><div><br /></div><div>The paper, published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343717305249">Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering</a>, details how the team came across the solution.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team converted the seeds into an 'activated' carbon source by means of a process called KOH treating and then subjecting the seeds pyrolysis (decomposing by subjecting objects to extreme heat) at 900 degrees Celsius, producing the activated carbon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team then segregated the filter into batches, which were tested with both laboratory-prepared fluoride water and groundwater sourced from Nalgonda, Telangana, which has some of the worst instances of fluoride concentration in groundwater in India.</div><div><br /></div><div>The tests showed that the carbonised Jamun seeds absorbed and reduced the concentration of fluoride in the water sources to even less than the WHO-approved level of 1.5 mg/litre, making the water safer for consumption.</div><div><br /></div><div>As many as 17 states of India currently face the problem of excess fluoride in groundwater sources, causing a major problem for water supply.</div><div><br /></div><div>The success of the team in this experiment has led them to attempt to uncover means to remove other pollutants from groundwater by using Jamun seeds.</div><div><br /></div></div>
<div>Jamun, one of the most commonly available fruits in India, may soon help serve the purpose of removing fluoride from groundwater sources if an IIT-Hyderabad study has its way.<div><br /></div><div>A research team, comprising of Ramya Araga, Shantanu Soni and Chandra S Sharma, has discovered a way to turn the seeds of the Jamun (Syzygium cumini) into a carbon filter capable of significantly reducing fluoride levels in groundwater sources.</div><div><br /></div><div>The paper, published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213343717305249">Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering</a>, details how the team came across the solution.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team converted the seeds into an 'activated' carbon source by means of a process called KOH treating and then subjecting the seeds pyrolysis (decomposing by subjecting objects to extreme heat) at 900 degrees Celsius, producing the activated carbon.</div><div><br /></div><div>The team then segregated the filter into batches, which were tested with both laboratory-prepared fluoride water and groundwater sourced from Nalgonda, Telangana, which has some of the worst instances of fluoride concentration in groundwater in India.</div><div><br /></div><div>The tests showed that the carbonised Jamun seeds absorbed and reduced the concentration of fluoride in the water sources to even less than the WHO-approved level of 1.5 mg/litre, making the water safer for consumption.</div><div><br /></div><div>As many as 17 states of India currently face the problem of excess fluoride in groundwater sources, causing a major problem for water supply.</div><div><br /></div><div>The success of the team in this experiment has led them to attempt to uncover means to remove other pollutants from groundwater by using Jamun seeds.</div><div><br /></div></div>
