Abstract
In this work, tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites were designed and synthesized by hydrothermal method for the treatment of phosphorus in wastewater. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The removal efficiency of phosphorus on the tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites was carried out and investigated under various conditions, such as contact time, sorbent content, and pH. After the multi-run experiments, the phosphorous elimination of the tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites was declined slightly comparing with the first-run experiments. Compared with the conventional crystallization methods, tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites not only gave high efficiency to remove phosphorus from wastewater without any complicated pretreatment, but also provided excellent magnetic properties for separating the phosphorus from water, which made it easy recycled. Moreover, tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites had excellent P-elimination properties even in the strong acidic or basic conditions. Therefore, tobermorite/SiO2/Fe3O4 composites were important candidate for water quality control and protection.
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by the Scientific Research Foundation of Education Commission of Hubei Province (Q20111010 and T201101), the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2011CDB059 and 2011CDA111), the foundation of Engineering Research Center of Nano-Geomaterials of Ministry of Education (GUGNGM201207) and Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20114208120006).