Pham Thi Huong, Kim Jitae, Bach Long Giang,Trinh Duy Nguyen, Phan Quang Thang
A low-cost and high-efficiency adsorbent was developed by chemical activation of pine cone biomass with lanthanum chloride (La-PC) and applied for the simultaneous removal of phosphate (P) and nitrate (N) in aqueous solution. Equilibrium and kinetic experiments were performed to investigate the effects of operating conditions such as solution pH, coexisting ions, and initial concentration on the removal of P and N. The maximum adsorption capacities using La-PC were 68.2 and 46.6 mg g−1 for P; 25.8 and 21.4 mg g−1 for N, in single- and mixed system, respectively. Adsorption isotherm and adsorption kinetic studies showed that the Langmuir isotherm and second-order model were well fitted, indicating that the adsorption of P and N was dominated by a homogeneous and chemisorption. The presence of other anions such as SO42−, HCO 3 −, and Cl– was slightly effected for removal of P and N. In addition, the regeneration of the adsorbent could be easily achieved and desorption efficiencies after three cycles were 89.4 and 76.5% for P and N, respectively. Based on the results, La-PC would be utilized as a promising material for removal of nutrients from water from aqueous solution.
