Removal of Phosphorus from Wastewater by Different Morphological Alumina

In this work, an organic-free method was used to synthesize different morphological boehmite by controlling the crystallization temperature, and alumina adsorbents were obtained by baking the boehmites at 500 degrees C. The alumina adsorbents were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), N(2)adsorption/desorption analysis, and their phosphorus adsorption properties were comparatively investigated by a series of experiments. The results showed that the self-prepared alumina adsorbents were lamellar and fibrous material, while the industrial adsorbent was a granular material. The lamellar alumina adsorbents had the largest specific surface area and showed better phosphorus adsorption capacity. The maximum adsorption capacity could reach up to 588.2 mg center dot g(-1); and only 0.8 g center dot L(-1)of lamellar alumina adsorbent is needed to treat 100 mg center dot L(-1)phosphorus solution under the Chinese level 1 discharge standard (0.5 mg center dot L-1). Further investigation suggests that the lamellar alumina adsorbent kept high adsorption capacity in various solution environments.