Removal of Sulfate, Phosphate and Colored Substances in Wastewater Effluents using Feldspar

Feldspar, among many natural substances such as termitemount-clay, saw-dust, kaolinite and dolomite, offers asignificant removal ability for sulfate, phosphate, and coloredsubstances. Optimization of experimental parameters such assolution pH and flow rate reveals, that the maximum efficiency forremoval of phosphate, sulfate, and colored substances is about42, 52, and 73% respectively. X-ray diffraction, adsorptionisotherm and recovery studies suggest, that the removal processof anions occurs via ion exchange in conjunction with surfaceadsorption. Furthermore, reaction rate studies indicate thatthe removal of the selected pollutants by feldspar follows first-order kinetics. Although the percent removal, under the optimized conditions, is higher for laboratory prepared solutions, efficiency is a little less for industrial effluentsdue to interferent effects. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000