Resin-based iron-manganese binary oxide for phosphate selective removal

Adsorption technology can effectively remove phosphorus from water and realize phosphorus recovery. Hence, it is used to curb the eutrophication of water and alleviate the crisis caused by the shortage of phosphorus resources. Resin has been attracting increasing interest as an ideal adsorption material; however, its practical application is greatly affected by environmental factors. To solve the competitive adsorption and pore blockage caused by humic acid and coexisting ions during the removal of phosphorus by ion-exchange resin, this study has developed an iron-manganese oxide–modified resin composite adsorbent (Fe/Mn-402) based on the nanoconfinement theory. The structural characterization results of XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and XPS showed that the iron-manganese binary oxide was successfully loaded on the skeleton of the strongly alkaline anion resin and showed good stability under both neutral and alkaline conditions. The batch adsorption experiments showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of Fe/Mn-402 for phosphorus can reach up to 50.97 mg g−1 under the optimal raw material ratio (Fe:Mn = 1:1). In addition, Fe/Mn-402 shows good selectivity for phosphorus removal. Fe/Mn-402 can maintain good adsorption performance for phosphate even under high concentrations of SO42−, HCO3−, and humic acid. The regenerated Fe/Mn-402 can be recycled without any obvious change in its treatment capacity. Hence, it is suitable for stable, long-term usage. In general, this work puts forward a new idea for the development of phosphorus-removal adsorbents for the treatment of wastewater containing coexisting ions and HA.