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Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering >> 2013, Volume 7, Issue 3 doi: 10.1007/s11783-013-0508-1

Validation of polymer-based nano-iron oxide in further phosphorus removal from bioeffluent: laboratory and scaled-up study

State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Xianlin Campus, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China

Available online: 2013-06-01

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Abstract

The efficient removal of phosphorous from water is an important but challenging task. In this study, we validated the applicability of a new commercially available nanocomposite adsorbent, i.e., a polymer-based hydrated ferric oxide nanocomposite (HFO-201), for the further removal of phosphorous from the bioeffluent discharged from a municipal wastewater treatment plant, and the operating parameters such as the flow rate, temperature and composition of the regenerants were optimized. Laboratory-scale results indicate that phosphorous in real bioeffluent can be effectively removed from 0.92 mg·L to<0.5 mg·L (or even<0.1 mg·L as desired) by the new adsorbent at a flow rate of 50 bed volume (BV) per hour and treatable volume of 3500–4000 BV per run. Phosphorous removal is independent of the ambient temperature in the range of 15°C–40°C. Moreover, the exhausted HFO-201 can be regenerated by a 2% NaOH+ 5% NaCl binary solution for repeated use without significant capacity loss. A scaled-up study further indicated that even though the initial total phosphorus (TP) was as high as 2 mg·L , it could be reduced to<0.5 mg·L , with a working capacity of 4.4–4.8 g·L HFO-201. In general, HFO-201 adsorption is a choice method for the efficient removal of phosphate from biotreated waste effluent.

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