Highly efficient phosphate removal from water with lanthanum oxide nanoparticles loaded on aeolian sand

A composite material, lanthanum oxide nanoparticles modified aeolian sand (LOAS), for phosphate removal from water was prepared by hydrothermal method. The optimum preparation conditions were obtained by controlling the amount of lanthanum and polyethylene glycol, and the growth period. The results of XRD, SEM and TEM studies showed that the lanthanum oxide nanoparticles formed a disordered layered structure on the surface of the aeolian sand. The adsorption rate reached 80 % in 180 min, according to the adsorption kinetic analysis, which demonstrated that the Elovich kinetic model fit the experimental data well. 71.383 mg P/g was the anticipated adsorption capability, and the Freundlich model was more closely matched by the adsorption isotherm. FT-IR and XPS were used to study the adsorption process of phosphate, and LOAS was insensitive to the initial pH or coexisting anions, adsorption efficiency is above 80 %. The findings demonstrated that the primary processes of phosphate adsorption were electrostatic interactions and ligand exchange.