Development of sustainable adsorption technologies for fluride removal in Ethiopia

Dental and skeletal fluorosis affect more than eight million people in the Ethiopian Rift Valley due to the natural occurrence of high fluoride concentrations in groundwater. Adsorption technologies for its removal have been implemented showing certain level of success. Bone char has been used for a decade, synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAp) is currently spreading, and zeolite is going to be piloted. They share aspects such as the same treatment plant design, financial and management structure or simplicity in operation and maintenance. However, they vary in technical and environmental features, associated costs and social acceptance. Despite their relative long-term implementation and promising characteristics still they have not been scaled-up. Therefore, this research contributes to understand in more depth the experiences gathered and their strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats which explain the current situation. Since it has been proved that technologies themselves might not be the only reason behind, the research evaluates the different sustainability factors that could hinder their development. This includes the changes needed from the involved stakeholders and enabling environment to improve their performance. The research highlights the importance of assessing these technologies with a holistic approach, to transform them into sustainable options able to contribute to mitigate the negative health and socio-economic impacts affecting the rural communities in Ethiopia.