Highly Efficient Coremoval of Nitrate and Phosphate Driven by a Sulfur-Siderite Composite Reactive Filler toward Secondary Effluent Polishing

Reactive fillers consisting of reduced sulfur and iron species (SFe-ReFs) have received increasing attention in tertiary wastewater treatment for nitrate and phosphate coremoval. However, the existing SFe-ReFs suffer from either low performance (e.g., pyrrhotite and pyrite) or unsatisfactory use in terms of combustible risk and residual nonreactive impurities (e.g., sulfur mixing with natural iron ores). Here, we developed a new type of sulfur-siderite composite ReF (SSCReF) with a structure of natural siderite powders eventually embedded into sulfur. SSCReFs exhibited many excellent properties, including higher mechanical strengths and hardness and especially much poorer ignitability compared to pure sulfur. By using SSCReF to construct packed-bed reactors, the highest denitrification and dephosphorization rates reached 829.70 gN/m(3)/d (25 wt % siderite) and 36.70 gP/m(3)/d (75 wt % siderite), respectively. Dephosphorization was demonstrated to be dependent on sulfur-driven denitrification, in which the acid produced from the later process promoted Fe-(II) dissolution, which then directly combined with phosphate to form vivianite or further converted into phosphate adsorbents (ferrihydrite, a green rust-like compound). Water flush was an effective way to finally wash out these surface deposited Fe-P compounds, as well as those nonreactive impurities (Si and Al-bearing compounds) detached from SSCReF. Such a highly efficient and safe SSCReF holds considerable application potential in secondary effluent polishing.

Automated summary

This study developed a sulfur-siderite composite reactive filler (SSCReF) with higher mechanical strength and hardness for denitrification and dephosphorization in wastewater treatment. The SSCReFs exhibited excellent performance in packed-bed reactors, achieving high removal rates of nitrate and phosphate.