Applicability of ferric(III) hydroxide as a phosphate-selective adsorbent for sewage treatment

Abstract

This research was undertaken to evaluate the usability of ferric(III) hydroxide for phosphate removal from sewage. Batch adsorption experiments, partly fixed bed column experiments, were conducted to study the influence of various factors, competing anions and contact time on the adsorption of phosphate on ferric(III) hydroxide. Processing ferric iron in the form of akaganeite (β-FeOOH) greatly increased the adsorption capacity for phosphate. The optimum phosphate removal was observed in the pHeq ≤ 6.0. All results from this study demonstrate the potential usability of β-FeOOH as a good phosphate-selective adsorbent for the phosphate removal system for a sewage treatment plant.