Rapid adsorption of phosphorus at low concentration from water using a novel green organometallic material EGCG-Fe

Phosphorus at a low concentration in water should be recovered for the phosphate fertilizer cost in agriculture and the protection of aqueous environment from eutrophication. The reuse of phosphorus through the adsorption material introduced by the low toxic chemicals is a sustainable desire. In this work, a novel organometallic material (OM), EGCG-Fe (EF), was synthesized by Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) and iron (Fe). Bamboo Charcoal (BC) was utilized to dispense the aggregates of EF forming the compared absorbent of EFC. The materials were characterized, and the batch sorption experiments were conducted for modeling and analyzing the factors on the adsorption. The results indicated that EF rapidly adsorbed phosphorus achieving the adsorption equilibrium within 20 min when the initial concentration (C0) was lowered to 2.0 ~ 5.0 mg·L−1. The maximum value reached 94.6 ± 0.22 % for recovery rate (R) and 4.61 mg·g−1 for equilibrium adsorption capacity (qe). EF could release directly phosphorus into the water for the reuse as a phosphate fertilizer. BC enforced the interaction of phosphorus and the adsorbents creating the difficult desorption. After the characteristic and the sorption capabilities were discussed, the main adsorption mechanisms of the material were illustrated the intragranular diffusion, ligand exchange, the ester bond and the hydrogen bond. The work proposed the novel green material of EF as a candidate for the sustainable reuse of phosphorus, and suggested the prospective application interests in the recycling of phosphorus by the safe OMs.