Enhanced Removal of Phosphates by the Adsorbent Consisting of Iron Oxide Loaded on Porous Chitosan/Cellulose Acetate Particle

The effective and economical removal of phosphates from aqueous solution, mostly applied in waste water treatment, is one of the significant issues globally. Removal of phosphates ions in aqueous solution was analysed by chitosan blended with cellulose acetate, and iron oxide loaded chitosan-cellulose acetate adsorbents. The adsorbents were made in the form of beads. Batch experiments were performed to investigate the performance of the beads under various conditions on phosphate adsorption. Contact time, effect of initial phosphate concentration, adsorbent dosage, pH and temperature were investigated. Zeta potential measurements were also undertaken. The results showed that the adsorption process was highly pH dependent. The adsorption kinetics data were modelled with the application of adsorption reaction models and adsorption diffusion models. The results revealed that the pseudo 2nd order model was the best fitting in all cases. The experimental data were tested with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. The equilibrium data were well fitted to the Langmuir isotherm model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 958 μg/g. The Freundlich isotherm model also had a close fit with a maximum adsorption of 233 μg/g, which was very close to the experimental maximum adsorption. The mechanism of adsorption followed two stages in which the first one was fast followed by a slower gradual stage. SEM images showed that the adsorbent was macroporous. Fourier Transform Infrared Red (FT-IR) Spectroscopy, X-ray Diffraction Spectroscopy (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) showed that the phosphate adsorption on the HFO-CS/CA beads was due to surface complexes, and mainly involved Nitrogen atoms. HFO loading also increased surface area.