Abstract
The ecological and environmental problem caused by harmful algal blooms (HABs) is challenging to humans. The simultaneous elimination of cyanobacteria and phosphate from eutrophic waters is of great importance. Herein, a new lanthanum peroxide-loaded sepiolite nanocomposite was fabricated via a facile in-situ co-precipitation method and demonstrated the excellent properties on removal of phosphate and inhibition of cyanobacteria growth. The optimized nanocomposite (termed as LPS30) prepared with a La-to-Sepiolite mass ratio of 0.3:1 demonstrated the best cyanobacteria removal with an effective duration of at least 3 months, due to the even dispersion of high-content LP nanoparticles in the sepiolite. LPS30 exhibited a high phosphate uptake (52.68 mg-P/g), fast uptake kinetics (∼45 min to reach 80% of ultimate uptake), and relatively higher selectivity in the presence of competing matters. The pH-dependent phosphate sorption resulted from the ligand exchange between phosphate and surface functional groups (e.g., peroxo and hydroxyls), and the electrostatic attraction. The efficient and long-lasting inhibition for cyanobacteria regrowth was attributed to the combined effect of the oxidative species (i.e., La[sbnd]O[sbnd]O-) and the efficient removal of phosphate through the coagulation flocs. Our study demonstrated that LPS30 is a promising material to simultaneously treat phosphate and algae for HABs management.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 691-703 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Journal of Colloid and Interface Science |
| Volume | 624 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 15 Oct 2022 |
Keywords
- Adsorption
- Harmful algal blooms
- Ligand exchange
- Oxidation
- Peroxo
- Simultaneous treatment