Phosphate removal and recovery with a synthetic hydrotalcite as an adsorbent

Phosphate removal is important to control eutrophication and an ion exchange process is one of several treatment processes for this purpose. Hydrotalcite compounds (HTALs) are useful as adsorbents for phosphate removal because of their ion exchange properties. In this study, the adsorption properties of a granular synthetic HTAL for phosphate and the method of regeneration of the granular HTAL were examined. The adsorption isotherm of the granular HTAL was approximated by a modified Langmuir type, and the maximum adsorption capacity was 47.3 mg P g−1, which corresponded to the content of HTAL in the granular one. Phosphate adsorbed on the HTAL was effectively desorbed with alkaline NaCl solutions and the HTAL was regenerated with 25 w/v% MgCl2 solution. The regenerated HTAL could be reused repeatedly for the phosphate removal. Phosphate in the exhausted desorption solution was recovered as a precipitate of calcium phosphate by addition of CaCl2, and the residual exhausted desorption solution could be also reused after supplying NaOH. The results suggest the possibility of an effective system for phosphate removal and recovery, which includes the following processes: adsorption, desorption, recovery of phosphate, and regeneration of the HTAL and the desorption solution.