Utilizing acid mine drainage sludge and coal fly ash for phosphate removal from dairy wastewater

This study aims to investigate a new and sustainable approach for the reuse of industrial by-products from wastewater treatment. The dairy industry produces huge volumes of wastewater, characterized by high levels of phosphate that can result in eutrophication and degradation of aquatic ecosystems. This study evaluated the application of acid mine drainage (AMD) sludge, coal fly ash, and lignite as low-cost adsorbents for the removal of phosphate from dairy wastewater. Material characterization using X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller surface area analysis revealed significant amounts of crystalline/amorphous Fe/Al/Si/Ca-based minerals and large surface areas of AMD sludge and fly ash. Batch adsorption isotherms were best described using the Freundlich model. The Freundlich distribution coefficients were 13.7mg(0.577)L(0.423)g(-1) and 16.9mg(0.478)L(0.522)g(-1) for AMD sludge and fly ash, respectively, and the nonlinearity constants suggested favourable adsorption for column applications. The breakthrough curves of fixed-bed columns, containing greater than 10wt% of the waste materials (individual or composite blends) mixed with sand, indicated that phosphate breakthrough did not occur within 100 pore volumes while the cumulative removal was 522 and 490mgkg(-1) at 10wt% AMD sludge and 10wt% fly ash, respectively. By contrast, lignite exhibited negligible phosphate adsorption, possibly due to small amounts of inorganic minerals suitable for phosphate complexation and limited surface area. The results suggest that both AMD sludge and fly ash were potentially effective adsorbents if employed individually at a ratio of 10wt% or above for column application.