Lanthanum molybdate/magnetite for selective phosphate removal from wastewater: characterization, performance, and...

Lanthanum molybdate/magnetite (M-La₂(MoO₄)₃) with various LaCl₃/Fe₃O₄ mass ratios was synthesized and optimized for selective phosphate removal from wastewater. M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1) was selected on the basis of phosphate sorption capacity for further experiments and characterized by a variety of methods. The phosphate sorption kinetics, isotherms, and matrix effect were studied. The maximum sorption capacity at initial pH 7 indicates the possible applicability M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1) in removing phosphate from the aquatic environment. Phosphate removal by M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1) with high selectivity was achieved in the presence of other co-existing anions, while calcium and magnesium ions were found to inhibit the sorption process. The sorption isotherm study showed that Freundlich and Sips models fit better the Langmuir model, indicating that heterogeneous multilayer sorption was dominant during the phosphate sorption process. Sorption kinetic results showed that the pseudo-first-order kinetic model can describe well the phosphate sorption process by M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1). Consecutive sorption-desorption runs showed that M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1) could be reused for a few cycles. Simultaneous removal of phosphate and organic matter was achieved in real wastewater by using M-La₂(MoO₄)₃ (2:1). The sorption mechanism was inner-sphere complexation.