Sterile phosphate as a novel calcic adsorbent for phosphorus removal from wastewater

Abstract Sterile phosphate (SP) was investigated for phosphorus removal from wastewater using batch adsorption experiments. The novel adsorbent is a mining by-product obtained from the phosphate mining plants having a strong affinity with phosphorus ions present in wastewater. The results of the batch adsorption experiments indicated that 30 min of contact time between the adsorbent and wastewater was sufficient for attaining equilibrium. The phosphorus removal from wastewater increased with increasing initial phosphorus concentration, adsorbent dose and temperature, while it decreased with increasing initial pH values. The maximum phosphorus removal efficiency was noted to be 94.4%. It was achieved in slightly acidic conditions (pH = 4), with an adsorbent dose and initial phosphorus concentration of 3 g L−1 and 20 mg L−1, respectively, and at room temperature. Kinetic analysis showed that phosphorus adsorption onto sterile phosphate was best fitted with the pseudo-second order kinetic model. The adsorption equilibrium data fitted well to the Langmuir model equation, indicating monolayer coverage of the adsorbent. The adsorption capacity calculated from the Langmuir model equation was found to be 7.962 mg g−1. Comparing with some industrial products and natural mineral adsorbents, sterile phosphate was found to be the most efficient adsorbent for phosphorus removal from wastewater.