Integrated membrane-based systems for fluoride removal and recovery from natural water sources

Elevated fluoride levels in drinking water pose a serious health risk to communities in Ethiopia’s Central Rift Valley (ECRV), where groundwater is the primary source of water. This study characterizes groundwater samples from the ECRV and evaluates the performance of an integrated membrane-based system for fluoride removal and recovery. The system combines reverse osmosis (RO) for preconcentration with osmotic membrane distillation-crystallization (OMD-Cr) and vacuum membrane distillation-crystallization (VMD-Cr) for fluoride separation and crystallization. The Results confirm the successful removal of fluoride and its recovery as mixed fluoride salts while ensuring high water recovery. The integration of membrane crystallization techniques (OMD-Cr and VMD-Cr) with RO preconcentration demonstrates a promising approach for achieving zero liquid discharge (ZLD) by recovering both purified water and crystallized salts. The recovered fluoride salts have potential industrial applications, making this a sustainable and resource-efficient solution. Furthermore, the study evaluates a locally built solar evaporative crystallizer, which effectively purifies highly polluted groundwater, reducing total dissolved solids (TDS) and fluoride concentrations to produce potable water. This low-cost, energy-efficient system provides an alternative for fluoride-affected regions facing freshwater shortages. 

Jury members :

• Prof. Patricia Luis Alconero (UCLouvain, Belgium), supervisor
• Prof. Esayas Alemayehu (Jimma Institute of Technology-JU, Ethiopia), supervisor
• Prof. Grégoire Winckelmans (UCLouvain, Belgium), chairperson
• Prof. Bart Van Der Bruggen (KU Leuven, Belgium)
• Prof. Sandra Soares-Frazao (UCLouvain, Belgium)
• Prof. Dejene Beyene (Jimma Institute of Technology-JU, Ethiopia)
• Prof. Alessandra Criscuoli (CNR-ITM, Italy)

Auditorium LAVO 51, 16:45, 25 March