Effective removal of fluoride ions from contaminated water using electrochemical techniques: A critical review on recent developments and environmental perspective

•Electrochemical techniques have shown promise in the removal of fluoride ions from contaminated water.•Provided insights of various techniques such as electrolysis, electrocoagulation, electrooxidation, electro Fenton and electro-flotation.•Factors affecting the performance of electrochemical techniques were evaluated.•Up-to-date overview of recent advancements in electrochemical techniques were reviewed.•Challenges and future research directions are summarized. Worldwide, water pollution poses significant threats to human health, with fluoride contamination emerging as a critical hazard. High fluoride concentrations in water cause severe health impacts, including dental and skeletal fluorosis, neurological damage, and harm to the parathyroid gland, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. Electrochemical technique is one of the most widely used treatment technologies that has been extensively studied and provides a very effective, low-cost method of removing fluoride from contaminated water. The review reports the comprehensive electrochemical strategies for fluoride ions removal. The sources, toxicity, and impacts of fluoride pollution on health are discussed in this review. A comprehensive analysis of current electrochemical methods, including electrolysis, electrocoagulation, and the electro-fenton process, was provided in the context to facilitate the efficient removal of fluoride ions from wastewater. These methods exhibit high removal efficiencies, reaching up to 95 %, and offer scalability and operational flexibility, making them suitable for both centralized and decentralized water treatment systems. Furthermore, the recent advancements in the development of electrochemical technique for fluoride removal are critically reviewed. This study has prospected the recent developments, recommendations and future outlooks on electrochemical technique for fluoride removal. [Display omitted]