Highlights• Immobilization of magnetite nanoparticles on cationic polymer was synthesized.• Phosphate removal using magnetite based nanocomposites was tested.• Adsorption isotherms of phosphate at two pH; 5 and 7 were performed.• Different isotherms models were applied for experimental data fitting.• Regeneration and reusability of the magnetite based nanocomposites were carried out.
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AbstractA novel nanocomposite based on magnetite nanoparticles (Fe3O4-NPs) immobilized on the surface of the cationic exchange polymer, C100, using a modification of the coprecipitation method was developed to obtain magnetic nanocomposites (NCs) for phosphate removal and recovery from water. High resolution TEM-EDS, SEM, XRD, and ICP-OES were used to characterize the NCs. The continuous adsorption process by the so-called breakthrough curves was used to determine the adsorption capacity of the Fe3O4 based NC. The adsorption 3 capacity conditions were studied under different conditions (pH, phosphate concentration and concentration of NPs). The optimum concentration of iron in the NC for phosphate removal was 23.59 mgFe/gNC. The sorption isotherms of this material were performed at pHs 5 and 7.Taking into account the real application of this novel material in real water, the experiments were performed at pH 7, achieving an adsorption capacity higher than 4.9 mgPO4-P/gNC.Moreover, Freundlich, Langmuir and a combination of them fit the experimental data and were used for interpreting the influence of pH on the sorption and the adsorption mechanism for this novel material. Furthermore, regeneration and reusability of the nanocomposite were tested obtaining 97.5 % recovery of phosphate for the first cycle and at least 7 cycles of adsorptiondesorption were carried out with more than 40% of recovery. Thus, this work described a novel magnetic nanoadsorbent with promoting properties for phosphate recovery in wastewater.