Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry.pdf

Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 18 (2012) 871–875Short communication Removal of F, NO3 , and PO4 3 ions from aqueous solution by aminoclays Young-Chul Lee a, Eun Jung Kimb, Hyun-Jae Shin c, Minkee Choi a, Ji-Won Yang a,b,* aDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (BK21 program), KAIST, 335 Gwahak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea bAdvanced Biomass RD Center, KAIST, 291 Daehakno, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-701, Republic of Korea cDepartment of Chemical Biochemical Engineering (BK21 program), Chosun University, Seosuk-dong, Dong-gu, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea A R T I C L E I N F O Article history: Received 20 August 2011 Received in revised form 25 November 2011 Accepted 15 December 2011 Available online 23 December 2011 Keywords: Aminoclays Wastewater treatment Fluoride Nitrate Phosphate A B S T R A C T Fluoride (F), nitrate (NO3 ), and phosphate (PO4 n) anions are produced in large quantities by the use of cleaning agents in the electronics industry. Because of their high solubility in water and harmful impact on the environment, the development of an efficient treatment process for anionic species has been gaining increased attention. In this study, aminoclays with centered cationic metal ions, including Mg2+, Al3+, and Fe3+, were synthesized by a one-pot sol-gel reaction, and removal of F, NO3 , and PO4 3 by the synthesized aminoclays was evaluated in an anion mixture system. The aminoclays resulted in exfoliated dispersions with high-density amino groups in aqueous solution. Among the anions studied, phosphate was preferentially removed by the aminoclays, which suggests that anion removal by aminoclays was mainly achieved by the electrostatic interactions between anions and aminoclays. Compared with aminopropyl-functionalized silica gel (average diameter: 40–63 mm), aminoclays showed higher anion removal efficiencies.  2011 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevie