removalofphosphateionsfromaqueoussolutionusing.docVIP

Removal of phosphate ions from aqueous solution using Tunisian clays minerals and synthetic zeolite Noureddine Hamdi*, Ezzeddine Srasra National Center of Research in Materials Sciences, Borj Cedria Technopole 95-2050 Tunisia. E-mail: hamdinoureddine@yahoo.fr Abstract: Phosphate ions are usually considered as the responsible for the algal bloom in receiving water bodies and aesthetic problems in water. From the environmental point of view, management of such contaminant and valuable resource is very important. The present article deals with the removal of phosphate ions from aqueous solutions using kaolinitic and smectic clay minerals and synthetic zeolite as adsorbent. The pH effect and adsorption kinetic were studied. As a result, it was found that the efficiency of phosphate removal is at acidic pH (between 4 and 6) and the second order model of kinetics is more adopted for all samples. The isotherms of adsorption of phosphate ions by the two clays and the zeolite samples show that the zeolite reveals the highest rate of uptake (52.9 mg P/g). Equilibrium data were well fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm. Key words: phosphate; adsorption; clay mineral; zeolite ----------------------- * Corresponding author. E-mail: hamdinoureddine@yahoo.fr Introduction Phosphate discharged into the surface waters stimulates the growth of aquatic micro and macro organisms in nuisance quantities, which in excess can cause eutrophication in stagnant water bodies. Therefore, wastes containing phosphates must meet the discharge limits for phosphates, which are 0.5-1.0 mg/L according to the World Health Organization (WHO, 1993). In order to meet effluent quality standards, further treatment of secondary effluent is required. In wastewater treatment technology, various techniques have been used for phosphate removal. Coagulation-precipitation and biological process are widely accepted methods of phosphate removal at industrial lev