Removal of phosphate ions from aqueous solution using Tunisian clays minerals and synthetic zeolite

Phosphate ions are usually considered to be responsible for the algal bloom in receiving water bodies and aesthetic problems in water. From the environmental point of view, the management of such contaminant and valuable resource is very important. The present work deals with the removal of phosphate ions from aqueous solutions using kaolinitic and smectic clay minerals and synthetic zeolite as adsorbent. The pH effect and adsorption kinetic were studied. It was found that phosphate could be efficiently removed at acidic pH (between 4 and 6) and the second order model of kinetics is more adopted for all samples. The isotherms of adsorption of phosphate ions by the two clays and the zeolite samples show that the zeolite has the highest rate of uptake (52.9 mg P/g). Equilibrium data were well fitted with Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm.