Modern technologies designed to treat wastewater containing phosphorus compounds are based on the processes of adsorption and precipitation. In addition, more environmentally friendly and cheaper materials are being sought to ensure greater conformity with overarching assumptions of green chemistry and sustainable development. Against that background, this paper offers a review and analysis of available information on the considered reactive materials that have the capacity to remove phosphorus from wastewater. These materials are categorised as natural (with a sub-division in line with the dominant sorption groups of Al/Fe or Ca/Mg), waste, or man-made. Notably, most studies on sorbents have been carried out in laboratory systems via experimentation under static conditions. Among the natural materials, opoka has the highest sorption capacity of 181.20 g P/kg, while red mud (in the waste material category) is most efficient at binding phosphorus with a level of 345.02 g P/kg. Finally, among the group of commercial materials, Rockfos^® has the highest sorption capacity of 256.40 g P/kg. In addition, this paper recognises the effect of composition, pH, and physical properties on a reactive material’s capacity to absorb phosphorus, as well as the possibility for further potential use in the production of fertilisers.

This paper presents the preparation and study of the properties of alginate materials, which were obtained on the basis of sodium alginate, activated carbon, cellulose, and calcium chloride. Alginate–carbon (AlgCa + C) and alginate–cellulose (AlgCa + Cel) composites, as well as pure calcium alginate (AlgCa) for comparative purposes, were obtained. Their textural (nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms), morphological (scanning electron microscopy), thermal (thermal analysis), and acid–base (pH drift method) properties, as well as the swelling index, were investigated. Additionally, to determine the adsorption properties, comprehensive equilibrium and kinetic studies of the adsorption of sodium salts of ibuprofen (IBP), diclofenac (D), and naproxen (NPX) from aqueous solutions on biocomposities were carried out. Adsorption isotherms were fitted using the Marczewski–Jaroniec isotherm equation (R² = 0.941–0.988). Data on the adsorption rate were analyzed using simple kinetic equations, of which the best quality of fit was obtained using the multi-exponential equation (R² − 1 = (3.9 × 10⁻⁴)–(6.9 × 10⁻⁴)). The highest obtained adsorption values were reached in systems with alginate–carbon composite and were 1.23 mmol/g for NPX, 0.81 mmol/g for D, and 0.43 mmol/g for IBP. The AlgCa + C material was characterized by a large specific surface area (1151 m²/g), a high degree of swelling (300%) and high resistance to high temperatures.

The paper presents new reactive materials, namely marl and travertine, and their thermal modifications and the Polonite^® material, analyzing their phosphorus removal from water and wastewater by sorption. Based on the experimental data, an analysis of the factors influencing the sorption capacity of the materials, such as the material dose, pH of the initial solution, process temperature, surface structure, and morphology, was performed. Adsorption isotherms and maximum sorption capacities were determined with the use of the Langmuir, Freundlich, Langmuir–Freundlich, Tóth, Radke–Praunitz, and Marczewski–Jaroniec models. The kinetics of the phosphorus sorption process of the tested materials were described using reversible and irreversible pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and mixed models. The natural materials were the most sensitive to changes in the process conditions, such as temperature and pH. The thermal treatment process stabilizes the marl and travertine towards materials with a more homogeneous surface in terms of energy and structure. The fitted models of the adsorption isotherms and kinetic models allowed for an indication of a possible phosphorus-binding mechanism, as well as the maximum amount of this element that can be retained on the materials’ surface under given conditions—raw marl (43.89 mg P/g), raw travertine (140.48 mg P/g), heated marl (80.44 mg P/g), heated travertine (282.34 mg P/g), and Polonite^® (54.33 mg P/g).

Based on the assumptions of the circular economy model and sustainable development, we are currently looking for natural and ecological materials in terms of wastewater treatment of pollutants. This article presents the research of three mineral materials – lava rock (LR), lightweight sintered aggregate (LSA) and lightweight clay aggregates (LCA) used as filling of filtration columns for the treatment of real wastewater. The filtration process was carried out under various hydraulic loads in two columns, one of which was additionally supported by the aeration process. The post-treated sewage was characterized by the following parameters: COD (chemical oxygen demand), TOC (total organic carbon), phosphate phosphorus (P-PO4), total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP). Among the hydraulic loads applied, the most optimal loads were OhI = 0.25 m3/(m2·h). Certyd turned out to be the most effective with supporting filtration with the aeration process in removing organic compounds (reduction of 65.1% COD and 38.2% TOC at OhI). Lava rock seems to be a promising material reactive in terms of removal of biogenic compounds such as nitrogen (efficiency 23.8% at OhI) and phosphorus (64.2% reduction of TP at OhI) and organic compounds (21.4% reduction of TOC at OhI in conditions without aeration). LCA shows the best efficiency in sorption of phosphorus compounds (41.6% reduction of TP at OhI) and organic compounds (21.4% TOC reduction at OhI under non-aerated conditions).