Phosphate removal from water by naturally occurring shale, sandstone, and laterite: The role of iron oxides and of soluble species

Abstract Aqueous phosphate removal by three geomaterials from Ivory Coast was evaluated to determine their potential application as low-cost phosphate adsorbents in wastewater treatment. Batch experiments showed that phosphate uptake strongly depended on pH. Laterite and sandstone dissolution was less pronounced compared to shale. A correlation between concentrations of aqueous cation species released from shale and phosphate uptake was observed. The kinetics were well described using the pseudo-second-order model. Isotherms displayed a saturation level on shale, while phosphate uptake continuously increased for laterite and sandstone. The removal efficiency decreased in the following ranking order: laterite > sandstone > shale. Laterite was also the most efficient adsorbent in column experiments. The high phosphate removal efficiency of laterite (8.3 mg PO 4  g −1 ) was attributed to the presence of superparamagnetic low grain sizes of goethite. Laterite is a particularly promising material for further investigation in wastewater treatment technology such as constructed wetlands.