A natural zeolite (Z-N), rich in clinoptilolite, was modified (Z-Al) by incorporation of hydrated aluminium oxide (HAlO) for the simultaneous phosphate and ammonium removal. The incorporation of surface hydroxyl groups (ffiAl-OH) into the zeolite structure, as active groups for phosphate removal, was characterized by acid–base titrations (pHPZC= 4.5 ± 0.2). The phosphate sorption increases from 0.6 mg-P/g for Z-N up to 7.0 mg-P/g while only a slight decrease on the ammonium sorption capacity from 33 mg-N/g of Z-N to 30 mg-N/g for Z-Al was observed. The HAlO modified zeolite sorption capacity for both phosphate and ammonium was slightly reduced by common ions typically present in secondary waste water effluents. Column experiments revealed higher enrichment factor for ammonium (120) than for phosphate (50) using 1 M NaOH as elution solution. A reduction of zeolite phosphate capacity with regeneration cycles was observedPostprint (author’s final draft

This study reports the adsorption capacity of lead Pb²⁺ and cadmium Cd²⁺ of biochar obtained from: peanut shell (BCM), “chonta” pulp (BCH) and corn cob (BZM) calcined at 500, 600 and 700 °C, respectively. The optimal adsorbent dose, pH, maximum adsorption capacity and adsorption kinetics were evaluated. The biochar with the highest Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal capacity is obtained from the peanut shell (BCM) calcined at 565 °C in 45 min. The optimal experimental conditions were: 14 g L⁻¹ (dose of sorbent) and pH between 5 and 7. The sorption experimental data were best fitted to the Freundlich isotherm model. High removal rates were obtained: 95.96% for Pb²⁺ and 99.05. for Cd²⁺. The BCH and BZM revealed lower efficiency of Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺ removal than BCM biochar. The results suggest that biochar may be useful for the removal of heavy metals (Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺) from drinking water.

A natural clinoptilolite in its potassium form (KNC) was modified by impregnation of hydrated metal oxides (HMO) of aluminium (III) (KAlC), iron (III) (KFeC) and manganese (IV) (KMnC) for the simultaneous ammonium and phosphate recovery from urban wastewaters. The resulting pHpzc of the HMOs on the modified zeolites (7.3 ± 0.3 for KAlC, 6.4 ± 0.4 for KFeC and 6.9 ± 0.3 for KMnC) are suitable for phosphate sorption at pH of treated urban wastewaters (6–8). The sorption capacity for phosphate for KAlC and KFeC zeolites is higher at the lower pH range while for KMnC is higher at the upper pH range. Differences were associated to the intrinsic complexing properties of the MOH groups to form outer and inner sphere MOH-phosphate complexes. The maximum phosphate sorption capacity for the three zeolites were 6.8 mg-P/g for KAlC, 7.2 mg-P/g for KFeC and 8.2 mg-P/g for KMnC. Contrary maximum ammonium sorption capacity is kept constant between pH 4–9 for the tree zeolites as the main sorption mechanism is the ion-exchange reaction with K+ ions of the zeolite. The maximum ammonium sorption capacity for the three zeolites ranged from 29 to 33 mg-N/g. These differences on the nature of the sorption processes are also reflected in a much faster sorption kinetic for ammonium than for phosphate although for both species the rate determining step was ions diffusion on the zeolite particles. Modified zeolites shown high selectivity towards ammonium and phosphate in the presence of the dissolved organic matter as well as other ionic species present in the treated wastewaters. Finally, phosphorous (P) fractionation assays of the loaded zeolites confirmed a high phosphate bioavailability if these are applied as phosphate slow release fertilizers in soil applicationsPostprint (author's final draft

This study presents the evaluation of a fibrous ion exchanger impregnated with nanoparticles of hydrated ferric oxide (HFO) as a selective sorbent for phosphate. The hybrid impregnated anion exchanger (FIBAN-As) combines the durability and mechanical strength of a polymeric weak base anion exchange resin with the high sorption affinity of HFO towards phosphate species. The phosphate loading capacity at the common pH of waste waters treatment plant secondary effluents was 162 ± 12 mg PO43-/g sorbent. Dynamic experiments were carried out and data obtained was fitted to fixed-bed sorption models. The theoretical sorption capacities reported by the Thomas model were in good agreement to the breakthrough experimental capacities determined from the sorption data. The sorption capacity decreased in multicomponent system due to the faster ion exchange of competing anions compared to phosphate ions. The loaded FIBAN-As was efficiently regenerated by using a sodium hydroxide solution, reporting up to 90% of recovery. Finally, reuse of FIBAN-As was evaluated in three successively sorption–desorption cycles by using two regeneration solutions. A sorption capacity reduction of 23% and 30% was observed for acid and alkaline solutions, respectively after the third cyclePeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft