Removal of Phosphorus with the Use of Marl and Travertine and Their Thermally Modified Forms—Factors Affecting the Sorption Capacity of Materials and the Kinetics of the Sorption Process
Sylwia Gubernat,
Adam Masłoń,
Joanna Czarnota,
Piotr Koszelnik,
Marcin Chutkowski,
Mirosław Tupaj,
Justyna Gumieniak,
Agnieszka Kramek,
Tomasz Galek
Affiliations
Sylwia Gubernat
Doctoral School of Engineering and Technical Sciences at the Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 12, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Adam Masłoń
Department of Environmental and Chemistry Engineering, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Joanna Czarnota
Department of Environmental and Chemistry Engineering, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Piotr Koszelnik
Department of Environmental and Chemistry Engineering, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Marcin Chutkowski
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Rzeszow University of Technology, Powstańców Warszawy 6, 35-959 Rzeszów, Poland
Mirosław Tupaj
Department of Component Manufacturing and Production Organization, Rzeszow University of Technology, ul. Kwiatkowskiego 4, 37-450 Stalowa Wola, Poland
Justyna Gumieniak
Department of Component Manufacturing and Production Organization, Rzeszow University of Technology, ul. Kwiatkowskiego 4, 37-450 Stalowa Wola, Poland
Agnieszka Kramek
Department of Component Manufacturing and Production Organization, Rzeszow University of Technology, ul. Kwiatkowskiego 4, 37-450 Stalowa Wola, Poland
Tomasz Galek
Department of Integrated Design Systems and Tribology, Rzeszow University of Technology, ul. Kwiatkowskiego 4, 37-450 Stalowa Wola, Poland
The paper presents new reactive materials, namely marl and travertine, and their thermal modifications and the Polonite® material, analyzing their phosphorus removal from water and wastewater by sorption. Based on the experimental data, an analysis of the factors influencing the sorption capacity of the materials, such as the material dose, pH of the initial solution, process temperature, surface structure, and morphology, was performed. Adsorption isotherms and maximum sorption capacities were determined with the use of the Langmuir, Freundlich, Langmuir–Freundlich, Tóth, Radke–Praunitz, and Marczewski–Jaroniec models. The kinetics of the phosphorus sorption process of the tested materials were described using reversible and irreversible pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, and mixed models. The natural materials were the most sensitive to changes in the process conditions, such as temperature and pH. The thermal treatment process stabilizes the marl and travertine towards materials with a more homogeneous surface in terms of energy and structure. The fitted models of the adsorption isotherms and kinetic models allowed for an indication of a possible phosphorus-binding mechanism, as well as the maximum amount of this element that can be retained on the materials’ surface under given conditions—raw marl (43.89 mg P/g), raw travertine (140.48 mg P/g), heated marl (80.44 mg P/g), heated travertine (282.34 mg P/g), and Polonite® (54.33 mg P/g).