LANTHANUM-BASED MATERIALS FOR NUTRIENT PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION: OPTIMIZATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATION

Abstract

The release of phosphorus into the environment has caused eutrophication, which disrupts the aquatic ecosystem and deteriorates the drinking water quality. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to eliminate the root cause, nutrient phosphorus from water or wastewater effectively and efficiently. Lanthanum metal has been reported to be an exceptional phosphorus scavenger due to their low solubility product. In this thesis, lanthanum was used as the adsorbent and developed into different forms for the phosphorus removal. The lanthanum carbonate in particle form was the most effective and efficient with the highest phosphate adsorption capacity. On the other hand, the incorporation of lanthanum into polymeric hydrogel bead and membrane allows the materials to be used in column filtration and membrane filtration, respectively. All synthesized lanthanum-based materials demonstrated a high selectivity towards phosphate. This thesis provides a few promising materials for the treatment of phosphorus-containing water through batch and continuous processes.