Optimization of phosphate removal in anodizing aluminium wastewater

The wastewater produced after brightening and anodizing aluminium has high concentrations of phosphates and sulphates. The addition of MgO in a first physico-chemical wastewater treatment step makes the selective recovery of phosphates in the form of magnesium phosphates feasible, which may be reused as fertilizer. The proposed wastewater treatment process allows manufacturers to reduce more than 70% of the volume of the precipitate in the sedimentation reactor and more than 50% of the weight of the final disposal sludge. In this study, the use of an alternative low-grade MgO (LG-MgO) as a source of magnesium, which is cheaper than pure MgO, is investigated. The phosphate concentration and pH of the treated wastewater is controlled by the formation and precipitation of newberyite or bobierrite as a function of the magnesium source added. According to experimental data, a reaction mechanism is proposed. Although LG-MgO reacts more slowly than pure MgO and it is necessary to add 3–4 times the stoichiometric amount, this procedure has considerable economic and technical advantages.