Phosphorus removal and recovery from wastewater via hybrid ion exchange nanotechnology: a study on sustainable regeneration chemistries

Abstract

Technologies that allow for removal and subsequent recovery and reuse of phosphorus from polluted streams are imperative. One such technology is hybrid ion exchange nanotechnology (HIX-Nano), which may allow to produce a valuable nutrient solution following phosphorus desorption of the saturated media. This study evaluated the potential of four regeneration chemistries to desorb phosphorus from a commercially available HIX-Nano resin hybridized with iron oxide nanoparticles using a design of experiments (DoE) approach. More sustainable and less harmful regeneration solutions using a KOH/K2SO4 blend or a recovered NH4OH alkaline solution, along with tap water instead of synthetic acid, were compared to a control solution of KOH and H2SO4. Among the four regeneration methods studied, using the combination of recovered NH4OH and tap water shows the highest phosphorus recovery potential because: (i) it involves low cost and sustainable products, (ii) it showed a relatively high recovery efficiency (75 ± 15% as compared to the control at 89 ± 13%), and (iii) it did not demonstrate any significant dampening of the resin longevity after five adsorption and desorption cycles. Based on the DoE data, a series of regression models was developed to generate understanding of the effect of important operational parameters (volume of the regenerant solution, rinse speed, strength of the alkaline solution) on the phosphorus concentration in the recovered nutrient solution. Overall, this study indicates that HIX-Nano may contribute to providing a cost-effective and sustainable technological solution to tackle the phosphorus problem in wastewater treatment applications across the globe.

Evaluating Sustainable Development Pathways for Protein- and Peptide-Based Bioadsorbents for Phosphorus Recovery from Wastewater

“…Like the bioadsorbents, the commercially available benchmark adsorbent LayneRT also offers high specificity for P adsorption; however, it is impacted to a greater extent than the bioadsorbents by the presence of other anions in solution. ,, Therefore, it was essential to determine the selectivity coefficients of LayneRT corresponding to the influent concentrations of competing anions. Using the selectivity coefficient, the P removal performance was modeled assuming plug flow and the instantaneous equilibrium of the sorbed and aqueous phases, in accordance with previous studies. ,, …”

Rationale for the Combined Use of Biological Processes and AOPs in Wastewater Treatment Tasks

“…From the technological point of view, the development of new methods of using water treatment and water purification technologies is prompted by their known operational drawbacks, which have been investigated in several works [10,11,13,19].…”

“…The rapid growth of publication activity began in 2016, and peaked in 2020. In recent decades, there has been a clear trend towards the mainstreaming of water conservation issues in different regions of the world, with the formation of a number of integrated solutions for treatment of wastewater of different origins [10,11]. Thus, Figure 2 shows the thematic area of research according to different sources of publications, showing that there is an interdisciplinary approach to the topic of wastewater treatment.…”

Nanocomposite-based high-performance adsorptive water filters: recent advances, limitations, nanotoxicity and environmental implications

“…Thus, the management of water resources becomes a prerequisite. To address the issue of potable water scarcity, there are several traditional materials and treatment technologies already employed for the management of wastewaters like adsorption, 8 coagulation, 9 precipitation, 10 ion exchange, 11 membrane-based filtration, 12 oxidation, 13 floatation 14 and many others to fit into the purpose of environmental remediation. Membrane technologies, in particular, are promising and widespread, have low-cost separation efficiency and find applications in a variety of water treatment technologies due to their robustness 15 and facilities that are well integrated.…”