The use of modified coal gangue for the remediation and removal of phosphorus in an enclosed water area

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Thermally activated coal gangue and lanthanum-modified coal gangue were prepared by thermal activation and hydrothermal methods, respectively. Their structures and properties were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), attenuated total reflection flourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Thermally activated coal gangue and coal gangue modified by lanthanum were used in a closed water body and compared to polymeric ferric sulfate. The results show that gangue modified by lanthanum exhibits stronger chemical oxygen demand by chromium method (CODcr), total phosphorus (TP) and ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) removal capacities in overlying water than thermally activated coal gangue. The concentrations of CODcr, TP and NH4-N in overlying water during the stable period reached 11–14 mg/L, 0.023–0.028 mg/L and 0.16–0.20 mg/L, respectively. Thermally activated coal gangue had a good removal effect on CODcr but a poor inhibition effect on the TP. Compared to the thermally activated coal gangue and polymerized ferric sulfate, the lanthanum-modified coal gangue exhibited a better capacity to fix phosphorus in sediment, and the phosphorus extracted by hydrochloric acid (HCL-P) and residual phosphorus (Res-P) levels in the sediment increased, where HCL-P accounted for 57.40% of the TP, exceeding the control group’s value by 34.15%. Thermally activated coal gangue showed a limited capacity to fix phosphorus in sediment, while polymeric ferric sulfate improved phosphorus extracted by bicarbonate dithionite (BD-P) content in the sediment.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the editor and reviewers for their very useful suggestions and comments.

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Affiliations

  1. School of Geoscience and Environmental Engineering, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu, 611756, Sichuan, China

    Jianmin Zhou & Yongsheng Fu

  2. College of Architectural Engineering, Chengdu Textile College, Chengdu, 611756, Sichuan, China

    Jianmin Zhou

  3. School of Architecture and Environmental Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610100, Sichuan, China

    Shengwang Pan

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  1. Jianmin Zhou
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  2. Yongsheng Fu
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All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Jianmin Zhou, Yongsheng Fu and Shengwang Pan. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jianmin Zhou, and all the authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jianmin Zhou.

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Zhou, J., Fu, Y. & Pan, S. The use of modified coal gangue for the remediation and removal of phosphorus in an enclosed water area. Clean Techn Environ Policy (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-021-02026-x

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Keywords

  • Water remediation
  • Coal gangue
  • Modification
  • Phosphorus removal
  • Lanthanum hydroxide