Bhubaneswar: In a promising development for affordable drinking water treatment, researchers at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Rourkela in Odisha have developed a material from discarded jackfruit peels that can remove over 90% of fluoride from contaminated water in 10 minutes under laboratory conditions.
The innovation uses activated carbon derived from jackfruit peel, modified with zirconium to enhance its ability to capture fluoride. The patented technology could eventually help provide decentralised water treatment solutions in rural and semi-urban areas where groundwater contamination remains a concern.
Excessive fluoride in drinking water can cause dental and skeletal fluorosis, affecting the teeth and bones of children and adults. With fluoride contamination reported in groundwater across several parts of India, the development of affordable and sustainable treatment methods has become an important public health priority.
Conventional treatment technologies, including reverse osmosis, ion exchange and activated alumina, have certain limitations. Reverse osmosis can generate substantial quantities of wastewater and remove beneficial minerals, while other treatment methods may involve chemicals and operational requirements that pose challenges for wider adoption.
The NIT Rourkela team has sought to address these concerns by turning an agricultural by-product into a functional material for water purification.
Explaining the technology, Prof Susmita Mishra of the Department of Chemical Engineering at NIT Rourkela said the researchers prepared activated carbon from discarded jackfruit peels and modified it with zirconium to improve its fluoride-removal capacity. Laboratory experiments showed that the material could remove more than 90% of fluoride in approximately 10 minutes under the conditions tested.
The research was conducted by Prof Mishra and Dr Pratima Minz, a research graduate at the institute. The team has secured a patent for the technology under application number 202531080242, dated August 25, 2025.
During laboratory tests involving fluoride concentrations of around 1–5 milligrams per litre, the material recorded removal efficiencies exceeding 90%, with results reaching 97% within 10–20 minutes under the tested conditions.
The technology has reached Technology Readiness Level 4 (TRL 4), indicating validation at the laboratory level. Researchers estimate the synthesis cost at approximately Rs 37 per gram, based on the electricity and chemicals used in preparing the material.
Beyond its potential for water treatment, the innovation offers a waste-to-resource approach by converting discarded jackfruit peels into a useful product. Its relatively low estimated preparation cost could make it a candidate for further development for household or community-level applications, particularly in fluoride-affected regions.
However, the technology is not yet ready for widespread deployment. The researchers plan to develop a physical prototype and evaluate its long-term performance, operational costs and practical suitability before exploring real-world applications.
Prof Mishra said the material could contribute to cost-effective, decentralised water treatment in the long term, subject to further testing and validation.
The next phase of research will therefore be crucial in determining whether the laboratory results can be translated into a reliable and scalable solution for communities facing fluoride contamination in drinking water.