Sevelamer hydrochloride
(SH), originally developed as an oral pharmaceutical
for controlling blood phosphate levels, is a polyallylamine resin
that could be used in water treatments. Although it binds phosphates
effectively, its adsorption capacity suffers from a significant loss
at high pH. Here, we modify SH with lanthanum oxalate to improve its
phosphate adsorption in alkaline environments. With less than 6.00
wt% in La content, the composite adsorbent (SH-1C-1La) exhibits an
adsorption capacity of 109.3 mg P g
–1
at pH 8.0
and 100.2 mg P g
–1
at pH 10.0, demonstrating significant
enhancement from the original SH (86.3 mg P g
–1
at
pH 8.0 and 69.4 mg P g
–1
at pH 10.0). Besides its
high adsorption capacity and rapid adsorption kinetics, SH-1C-1La
is capable of maintaining more than 78% of its capacity after four
regeneration cycles, showing good durability in long-term applications.
Zeta-potential measurements and XPS analysis reveal that the lanthanum
oxalate species increase the surface potential to enhance the electrostatic
adsorption while introducing chemical binding sites for phosphate
ions. Both factors lead to the improved adsorption properties. The
modification by lanthanum oxalate species might provide a new alternative
for improving the phosphate adsorption properties of anion-exchange
resins.