Halloysite Nanotubes as Adsorptive Material for Phosphate Removal from Aqueous Solution
1
Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Rostock, Justus-von-Liebig-Weg 6, 18059 Rostock, Germany
2
Faculty of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Jimma University, Jimma 378, Ethiopia
3
Durtec GmbH, Genzkower Strasse 7, 17034 Neubrandenburg, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Water 2019, 11(2), 203; https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020203
Received: 30 November 2018
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Revised: 18 January 2019
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Accepted: 21 January 2019
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Published: 24 January 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Water Pollution and Treatment: Challenges and Opportunities)
In this study, we were aiming at testing halloysite nanotubes as an efficient adsorbent for the removal of phosphate from agricultural runoff. Adsorption of phosphate onto powder and granular form of halloysite nanotubes has been examined by using the classical batch method and diffusion experiments at room temperature. Different forms of halloysite nanotubes were investigated to explore the effect of structure on the adsorption of phosphate. The maximum adsorption efficiency was obtained for powder halloysite nanotubes (79.5%) and granular form (94.7%). It is believed that the pore space of the granular halloysite nanotubes accommodates phosphorus in addition to physico-chemically bound phosphate at surfaces. The pseudo-first order and pseudo-second order model fitted well the experimental kinetic data for both powder and granular form of halloysite nanotubes. The fit of the Freundlich isotherm model was superior as compared with the Langmuir approach, implying that the halloysite nanotubes are heterogeneous because of multiple surface groups and different pore structures. The two forms of halloysite nanotube tested have the abundant potential for removal of phosphate from agriculture runoff. Additional investigations at the pilot scale are, however, required to draw definite conclusions.
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Keywords:
phosphate; halloysite nanotubes; adsorption; isotherm; kinetic
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MDPI and ACS Style
Saki, H.; Alemayehu, E.; Schomburg, J.; Lennartz, B. Halloysite Nanotubes as Adsorptive Material for Phosphate Removal from Aqueous Solution. Water 2019, 11, 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020203
AMA Style
Saki H, Alemayehu E, Schomburg J, Lennartz B. Halloysite Nanotubes as Adsorptive Material for Phosphate Removal from Aqueous Solution. Water. 2019; 11(2):203. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020203
Chicago/Turabian StyleSaki, Hermin, Esayas Alemayehu, Joachim Schomburg, and Bernd Lennartz. 2019. "Halloysite Nanotubes as Adsorptive Material for Phosphate Removal from Aqueous Solution" Water 11, no. 2: 203. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11020203
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