Column-mode phosphate removal by a novel highly selective adsorbent

A phosphoric acid resin RGP was immobilized with zirconium(IV) (Zr(IV)) to investigate its applicability in phosphate removal. When loaded with Zr(IV), RGP was changed into an effective ligand exchanger with phosphate sorption capacity of 0.345 mmol/ml. Little metal leakage was observed. Breakthrough of phosphate sorption depended on solution acidity and phosphate concentration. An increase of solution pH greatly suppressed phosphate removal, but even at pH 8.21, about 56% of the added phosphate (2.8 mM) in the feed solution could still be sorbed. Electrolytes in the aqueous solution did not interfere with phosphate sorption; on the contrary, an enhancement effect was observed. Due to the high sorption capacity of Zr(IV)-loaded RGP, low concentration of phosphate can be removed at high flow rate (100 h−1 in space velocity). The sorbed phosphate on the Zr(IV)-loaded RGP could be quantitatively eluted with 0.5 M sodium hydroxide solution. The Zr(IV)-loaded RGP is a promising ligand exchanger for treating wastewater containing trace amounts of inorganic phosphate.