Jackfruit Peel Removes Most Fluoride From Water In Lab Tests
In short
- NIT Rourkela researchers made activated carbon from discarded jackfruit peel, modified with zirconium.
- In laboratory tests, the material removed more than 90% of fluoride in about 10 minutes.
- The work is patented and tested under lab conditions only; it has not yet reached households.
Why the Good News Desk likes this one
Excess fluoride in long-term drinking water can damage teeth and bones, and common removal methods can waste water or use chemicals. This approach uses a fruit by-product as the base material, which the researchers say could eventually offer a more affordable option. The results so far come from laboratory experiments only.
From The Better India
Cut open a ripe jackfruit, and you are greeted by its golden-yellow flesh, sweet aroma and sticky, fibrous peel. While the juicy fruit often finds its way into curries, chips and desserts, its thick outer covering usually ends up in the bin. Researchers at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela , however, have found another use for this often-discarded part of the fruit. They have turned jackfruit peel into a material that removed more than 90% of fluoride from contaminated water in laboratory tests, in about 10 minutes. The idea brings together two things that rarely make it...
