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Phosphate removal from aqueous solution by Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides: characterizations and mechanisms

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Abstract

In this study, Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides were prepared by a co-precipitation method for phosphate removal. Various techniques, including secondary electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), powder X-ray diffraction (p-XRD), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis, were employed to characterize the synthesized Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides. Batch experiments indicated that the performance of phosphate removal by Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides was excellent and increased with increasing the concentrations of La. The kinetics study showed that the adsorption was rapid and described better by the pseudo-second-order equation. The maximum adsorption capacities of Fe/La 3:1, Fe/La 1:1, and Fe/La 1:3 binary (hydr)oxides at pH 4.0 calculated by Langmuir model were 49.02, 69.44, and 136.99 mg/g, respectively. The uptake of phosphate was highly affected by solution pH and significantly reduced with the increase of pH value. The analyses of p-XRD, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) suggested that the predominant mechanisms of phosphate removal involved surface hydroxyl exchange reactions and co-precipitation of released La3+ and phosphate ions, which resulted into the formation of amorphous phase of rhabdophane (LaPO4·0.5H2O). The results show great potential for the application on the treatment of phosphate decontamination for their high efficiency of phosphate removal.

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Funding

The authors are grateful to the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41807358) and the Joint Fund of NSFC and Henan (No. U1804110).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geography and Environmental Science, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Haijing Duan, Lin Zhang, Yulong Wang & Yangyang Wang

  2. Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Geospatial Technology for the Middle and Lower Yellow River Regions (Henan University), Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Haijing Duan, Yulong Wang & Yangyang Wang

  3. Henan Engineering Research Center for Control and Remediation of Soil Heavy Metal Pollution, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Haijing Duan, Lin Zhang, Yulong Wang & Yangyang Wang

  4. College of Software, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Yanhong Liu

Authors
  1. Haijing Duan
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  2. Lin Zhang
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  3. Yulong Wang
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  4. Yanhong Liu
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  5. Yangyang Wang
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Contributions

Yulong Wang and Haijing Duan wrote the original draft. Yulong Wang conceptualized and designed the study. Lin Zhang performed the experiment and data analysis. Yanhong Liu and Yangyang Wang commented on and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Yulong Wang.

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Responsible editor: Tito Roberto Cadaval Jr

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Highlights

• Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides were prepared by a co-precipitation method.

• The adsorbents showed the excellent performance of phosphate removal.

• The uptake of phosphate was remarkably dependent on solution pH.

• Surface hydroxyl exchange reactions were the major adsorption mechanisms.

• Co-precipitation of rhabdophane was formed.

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Duan, H., Zhang, L., Wang, Y. et al. Phosphate removal from aqueous solution by Fe–La binary (hydr)oxides: characterizations and mechanisms. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 62662–62676 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15127-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15127-3

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