Liquid Treatment Systems · Engineered by SorbiTech

Community Defluoridation Treatment Unit

Name: Community Defluoridation Treatment Unit
Brand: SorbiTech

Containerised activated alumina defluoridation unit for community and decentralised drinking water supply to the WHO guideline of 1.5 mg per litre.

Capacity / Flow 0.5–50 m³/h

Design Standards NSF/ANSI 61 wetted materials · WHO Drinking Water Guidelines

Inlet Conditions 2–10 mg/L raw fluoride

Outlet Specification < 1.5 mg/L (WHO guideline) · < 1.0 mg/L design target

Operating Pressure (bar) 2–4

Quick Answer

A Community Defluoridation Treatment Unit is a containerised activated alumina adsorption plant sized for village and small town drinking water supply. Raw water passes through a fixed bed of NSF eligible AA-201 activated alumina, with outlet fluoride below the WHO guideline of 1.5 mg per litre. Robust, low complexity, no membrane technology.

Defluoridation for Affected Communities

The SorbiTech Community Defluoridation Treatment Unit is the engineered solution for the 200 million people worldwide drinking groundwater with fluoride above the WHO guideline of 1.5 mg per litre. The unit is a containerised fixed bed of NSF eligible SorbiTech AA-201 activated alumina, sized for village and small town supply at 0.5 to 50 m³/h. The technology is robust, has no membrane that fouls, runs at low pressure, and needs only basic operator training.

How the Bed Removes Fluoride

Raw water flows downward through the activated alumina bed. The surface hydroxyl sites on the alumina exchange with fluoride ions in the water, binding fluoride directly to the aluminium and releasing a hydroxyl ion. The outlet starts near zero and rises slowly as the bed loads. When the outlet approaches 1.0 mg per litre the bed is regenerated with dilute sodium hydroxide followed by sulphuric acid neutralisation, or the media is replaced. The choice between regeneration and replacement follows the volume of water treated and the operator capability.

Containerised Delivery and Site Installation

The unit is built into a 20 foot or 40 foot ISO container, with feed pump, pre filtration, defluoridation bed, post pH adjustment, and distribution pump on a single skid. Site installation needs only a concrete pad, electrical connection (single phase typical at small scale), and the raw water and distribution pipework. Commissioning takes 3 to 5 days from delivery to operation. SorbiTech handles the civil and the well field connections where the contract scope includes those works.

Operator Training and Monitoring

SorbiTech provides the operator training, the monitoring kit (ion selective electrode for daily fluoride field tests), the regulatory submission template for the local public health authority, and the breakthrough monitoring schedule that defines when the bed must be regenerated or replaced. The service contract includes scheduled site visits and the forward SorbiTech media supply that prevents stockout.

Applications and Sector

Community defluoridation programmes across East Africa, the Indian subcontinent, parts of China, and several regions of South America. See fluoride removal from drinking water and the municipal water treatment sector.