Batch and Fixed-Bed Column Performance of Phosphate Adsorption by Lanthanum-Doped Activated Carbon Fiber

Phosphate removal from water is crucial to the prevention of eutrophication. The phosphate adsorption performance from aqueous solutions by using lanthanum-doped activated carbon fiber (ACF-La) was developed by batch and continuous column adsorption method. The batch sorption condition with respect to interfering ions was tested, and the pseudo second-order and intraparticle diffusion models were used to evaluate the adsorption kinetics of phosphate onto ACF-La in the presence of interfering ions, with the second-order model to fit the experimental data better. Moreover, three factors (phosphate concentration, flow rate, and interfering ions) were examined at column run method to evaluate the practical application of ACF-La to the continuous removal phosphate from solution. Furthermore, how the factors (eluted solution concentration, eluted time, and regeneration number) affect the regeneration efficiency of ACF-La was also investigated. These findings suggest that ACF-La has a considerable potential for the application of phosphate removal from contaminated waters.