Fluoride Removal from Water Using Activated Carbon Derived from Biomass: Review

World is facing a challenge of scarcity of pure drinking water. The additional amount of fluoride contamination in drinking water causes a significant health threat due to its effects on teeth and bones. Adsorption is an effective method that can be used to remove fluoride ions from water. Activated carbon is the most common adsorbent due to favorable properties such as high specific surface area, high porosity, high selectivity, durability, and reusability. Due to those properties, activated carbon is widely used to capture fluoride ions from water. The main disadvantage of commercial-grade activated carbon derived from coal and coconut shell is the cost. Activated carbon prepared from low-cost materials like rice husk, corn cob, and palmyra nutshell is discussed for the effective removal of fluoride from water in the literature. It has been reported that the chemically activated biomass exhibits better porosity and surface area with high adsorption capacity. The porous structure of chemically synthesized activated carbon from biomass facilitates the adsorption of fluoride from water. Further, the literature provides evidence for activation of low-cost biomass for adsorbing and eliminating fluoride from water. The usage of biomass-derived activated carbon retains sustainability, low environmental impacts, and cost-effectiveness. This comprehensive review paper explores the chemically derived activated carbon from the biomass for the removal of fluoride from water.