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This research was undertaken to evaluate the usability of ferric(III) hydroxide for phosphate removal from sewage. Batch adsorption experiments, partly fixed bed column experiments, were conducted to study the influence of various factors, competing anions and contact time on the adsorption of phosphate on ferric(III) hydroxide. Processing ferric iron in the form of akaganeite (β-FeOOH) greatly increased the adsorption capacity for phosphate. The optimum phosphate removal was observed in the pHeq ≤ 6.0. All results from this study demonstrate the potential usability of β-FeOOH as a good phosphate-selective adsorbent for the phosphate removal system for a sewage treatment plant. HIGHLIGHTS Recovery of phosphate from sewage and wastewater to control eutrophication.; To develop phosphate-selective absorbents.; The potential usability of β-FeOOH as phosphate-selective adsorbent.; β-FeOOH can be applied for the phosphate removal system.; The phosphate adsorption capacity was increased to β-FeOOH>PA rein>Fe(OH)3.

The surface of polypropylene (PP) fiber was modified by UV-induced graft polymerization of 1-vinylimidazole (Vim), followed by quaternization with iodomethane, sulfonation with chlorosulfonic acid, or loading of silver (Ag) nanoparticles to endow the surface with antibacterial properties. The modified PP fibers were characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and surface charge analyses. The antibacterial activity of the modified PP fibers was assessed against the Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), respectively. The PP-g-Vim was greatly improved by loading of Ag nanoparticles (≥99.9%), quaternization (98.9–99.2%), or sulfonation (≥99.9%).

During solar salt production, large quantities of bittern, a liquid by-product containing high inorganic substance concentrations, are produced. The purpose of this research was to examine the utilization of waste bittern generated from salterns as a source for Mg production and as an absorbent for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture. The study was conducted in a sequential two-step process. At NaOH/Mg molar ratios of 2.70–2.75 and pH 9.5–10.0, > 99% Mg precipitation from the bittern was achieved. After washing with water, 100–120 g/L of precipitate containing 94% Mg(OH)2 was recovered from the bittern. At the optimum NH4OH concentration of 5%, 120 g of sodium bicarbonate precipitate per liter of bittern were recovered, which was equivalent to 63 g CO2 captured per liter of bittern. These results can be used to support the use of bittern as a resource and reduce economic losses during solar salt production.

In this study, we focused on the synthesis, characterization, and adsorption capacity testing of aminated glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH-g-GMA–Am). Our goal was to obtain a high-performance surface for the adsorption of various anions. Glycidyl methacrylate grafted rice husk (RH-g-GMA) was prepared by the graft copolymerization of glycidyl methacrylate with rice husk; the product was further subjected to an amination reaction. The surface properties, sorption characteristic functional groups, isotherm and kinetic studies, pore diffusion models, and effects of the temperature and pH on the material properties were studied under batch conditions. The IR spectroscopy results show additional surface functional groups for RH-g-GMA–Am. The adsorptions of and on RH-g-GMA–Am were found to follow pseudo-second-order kinetics; this indicated a possible dominant role played by chemisorption. The rate-limiting step for mass transfer was found to be boundary layer diffusion. Furthermore, the sorption isotherms for and fit the Langmuir model. The amination of RH-g-GMA drastically increased the removal efficiency from 3 to 82% and from 6 to 93% for and , respectively. Moreover, RH-g-GMA–Am exhibited a better removal efficiency in the pH range of 4–6.5. Regeneration studies revealed that the surface of RH-g-GMA–Am could be regenerated repetitively by simple acid washing with an insignificant decrease in the active surface for consecutive adsorptions. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43002.