Background & Objective: Discharge of phosphorous into surface water causes excessive growth of algae and aquatic plants followed by Eutrophication in lakes and rivers. Thus eliminating it from water supply is important. The aim of the present study is application of magnetic activated carbon to remove Phosphate from aqueous solutions.Materials & Methods: Effects of operational parameters such as pH, initial concentration of Phosphate, adsorbent dose and reaction time to remove Phosphate was investigate in a batch reactor.Results: Adsorption efficiency increased significantly by increasing the initial concentration of Phosphate, reaction time, adsorbent dose and pH to 7. On the other hand, the maximum removal of Phosphate (98.7%) occurred at 5 mg/L of Phosphate concentration, pH=7, adsorbent dosage of 0.8 g/L and contact time of 30 min.Conclusion: The high efficacy of the adsorption process in this study showed that magnetic activated carbon had good capability in the removal of Phosphate and can be used as an appropriate and new method for Phosphate removal from aqueous solutions.

The biological phosphorus removal is a microbial process widely used for removing phosphorus from wastewater to avoid eutrophication of water bodies. The study was aimed to screen the efficient Phosphate reducing isolates and used to remove Phosphate from synthetic wastewater using batch scale process. The three most efficient Phosphate reducers were isolated and screened from eutrophic lake water and forest soil samples. The total heterotrophic bacterial analysis of the samples showed the presence of about 38 Phosphate reducers based on the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test. Among them, Bacillus sp RS-1, Pseudomonas sp. YLW-7 and Enterobacter sp KLW-2 were found to be efficient in Phosphate reduction. Among the individual strains, Pseudomonas sp YLW-7 was noticed to be 68% removal in MSM with glucose at neutral pH. The consortium with combination of Bacillus sp. RS-1, Pseudomonas sp. YLW-7 and Enterobacter sp KLW-2 was effectively removed the Phosphate in the synthetic medium when compared to individual strains. The Phosphate removal was observed to be maximum of 92.5% inmineral salts  medium (MSM) at pH 7and 5, and 63.4% in synthetic Phosphate solution at neutral pH with lactose as a carbon source by the consortium after 72 h. Thus the microorganisms may use the contaminants as nutrients and as energy sources or it may be utilized by cometabolism. Therefore, these bacterial isolates might be used in the remediation of Phosphate contaminated environments.

The photocatalytic degradation of betamethasone sodium Phosphate was investigated in aqueous suspensions of zinc oxide nanoparticular with diameter size 20 nm under a variety of conditions. Different parameters such as irradiation time, the amount catalyst (0.12–0.8 g L-1), initial concentration of drug (10–50 mgL-1) and initial pH values (ranging from 3 to 11) were investigated in the presence of various electron acceptors. It was observed that 0.44 gL-1 of photocatalyst is the optimum value for photocatalyst dosage. In the most favorite conditions, the degradation efficiency was obtained 30gL-1 for betamethasone sodium Phosphate. Finally, the kinetics process was studied and the photodegradation rate of betamethasone sodium Phosphate was found to obey pseudo-first-order kinetics equation represented by the Langmuir–Hinshelwood model.

Background and Objective: Increased amount of Phosphate in the aqueous solutions disrupts the balance of aquatic organisms leading to serious environmental problems. This study aimed to evaluate the experimental Phosphate removal using graphene oxide nanoparticles. Method: In this study, the used adsorbent was initially synthesize by Hummer method its surface was covered by epoxy and hydroxyl functional groups. The adsorbent synthesized on the surface increases the hydrophilic property and promotes the use of graphene oxide in aqueous solutions. The effects of various parameters including the amount of adsorbent, pH, initial concentration, temperature, and contact time on adsorption were studied. Further kinetic and thermodynamic studies were performed on the data. Findings: The highest absorption rate by 0. 2 g of adsorbent was equal to 75% at pH =3 of the solution after 3-hour contact with absorbent. The results show that the kinetic pseudo-second-order model fits the data. The experimental data were adjusted with Langmuir model. Discussion and Conclusion: According to the results, graphene oxide adsorbent as an adsorbent for the removal of Phosphate has a good ability to adapt to the environment.

Sorption of 3 poisonous metal ions (Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+) in aqueous solutions by two Phosphate sorbents under dynamic and static conditions was studied. Phosphate sorbents (MgNH4PO4. H2O, Mg3(PO4)2. 6H2O) were synthesized by known procedures. The resulting crystalline samples were analyzed for the contents of Mg2+, Pb2+, P, N using spectrophotometric and elemental analysis methods. Likewise, the amounts of Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+ in solutions were determined before and after the sorption process using the atomic absorption method. The relative standard deviations for Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+ were 4.7%, 2.17%, and 1.61% and the detection limits were 5mg/L, 0.05 mg/L, and 0.1 mg/L, respectively. The sorbents showed a high performance in the purification of contaminated solutions under static conditions. The sorption capacity levels of Mg3 (PO4)2. 6H2O and MgNH4 PO4. H2O were 9.8m.mol/gr and 8.9m.mol/gr for Pb2+; 10.5m.mol/gr and 9m.mol/gr for Cd2+; and 6.6m.mol/gr and 5.3m.mol/gr for Cr3+, respectively. Pb2+ , Cd2+, Cr3+. sorption by inorganic Phosphate sorbents from solutions is associated with complicated chemical transformations of the sorbents. A proper account of these transformations allows for the sorption process to be optimized. The data on Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+ sorption under static conditions (24-h contact of Mg3 (PO4)2. 6H2O, MgNH4PO4. H2O, with solutions at 20°C) and under dynamic conditions were obtained and the sorption behaviors of the metal ions were investigated in response to the sorbents used. It was found that Mg3 (PO4)2. 6H2O was the best sorbent for Pb2+, Cd2+, Cr3+ under dynamic conditions.

Background & Objectives: Industrial activities in the world release large amounts of pollutants including heavy metals. This study was aimed to assess heavy metal removal by Phosphate- solubilizing bacteria and evaluation the effects of extracellular factors including phosphatase in removing the metal.Material & Methods: In this experimental study, Phosphate-solubilizing bacteria were isolated from Amaranth rhizosphere on Pikovskaya medium, and subsequently identified using molecular methods. Acid phosphatase level was measured by colorimetric method. MIC50 and MBC of nickel, cadmium, chromium, and lead were detected by microplate test. Heavy metal removal through cells or culture supernatant was assessed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Changes in the level of bacterial cells exposed to heavy metals were evaluated by FTIR method.Results: The acid phosphatase-producing strain was identified as Enterobacter xiangfangensis. The highest MIC50 (3mM) and MBC (100mM) were obtained for nickel, and the highest metal removal percentage (75.89%) was obtained for the lead. Both nickel and lead were removed by the cells and secreted products. FTIR results showed Ni3 (PO4) 2 wavelength of 915.058cm-1 in cells treated with 3mM nickel.Conclusion: Due to the high ability of the isolate in removing nickel and lead by cell surface and secreted materials, this isolate can be used in metal bioremediation. Though the phosphatase enzyme isolated from Enterobacter did not have any considerable effect on lead removal, it was able to remove nickel. Therefore, metal removal can be optimized by enzyme purification.

Effluent from dairy industry has a high amount of nutrients such as nitrate and Phosphate. In this work nitrate and Phosphate removal from treated dairy wastewater in the presence of organic load was investigated. For this purpose, 400ml of synthetic wastewater was inoculated with 2ml of seed culture of microalgae Chlorella salina. During the growth period, nitrate and Phosphate concentration in synthetic wastewater was measured for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days with the standard method (APHA). Results showed that removal of nitrate and Phosphate by the microalgae from synthetic wastewater was 100% and 95%, respectively. Also, maximum biomass production in 7 days of experiment was about 0. 7g/L. These values showed that Chlorella Salina could be potential candidates by showing their intrinsic merit for removal of Phosphate and nitrate from dairy wastewater and can be used in treated outlet refinement from the dairy treatment plant to be used before entering to the environment.

Background: Phosphorus is an indispensable element for the growth of animals and plants. There are several environmental problems related to Phosphate; therefore, the technical and economic methods of removing Phosphate are of great importance. This study evaluated the efficiency of polyaniline/Ni0. 5Zn0. 5Fe2O4 magnetic nanocomposite in removing Phosphate from aqueous environments. Methods: The adsorbent was characterized by several methods, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. Then, the potential of the adsorbentto adsorb Phosphate was investigated. The effects of the parameters of contact time (5-60 minutes), pH (3-9), adsorbent dosage (0. 05-0. 6 g), and initial Phosphate concentration (2-100 mg/L) on the Phosphate removal yield were studied. All Phosphate ion concentrations were measured using the ammonium molybdate spectrophotometric method. Results: The results showed that a time of 30 minutes, pH of 5, and adsorbent dose of 0. 4 g were the optimum conditions for Phosphate removal through adsorption. Increasing the initial concentration of Phosphate from 2 to 100 mg/L decreased the removal efficiency from 90. 3% to 32%. The experimental data was fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm model (R2 = 0. 997). Conclusion: Polyaniline/Ni0. 5Zn0. 5Fe2O4 magnetic nanocomposite removes Phosphate from aqueous solutions with a simple and environmentally benign procedure. The maximum adsorption capacity based on Langmuir isotherm (R2 = 0. 931) is 85. 4 mg/g. This magnetic nanocomposite is applicable in managing water resource pollution caused by Phosphate ions.

Background: Highly-concentrated Phosphate and nitrate anions from sugarcane wastewater are often discharged into public waters without standardized treatments. This study assessed the effects of electrical coagulation, initial pH and reaction time in the removal of Phosphate and nitrate pollutants. Methods: We used aluminum electrodes to remove the pollutants at Hakhim Farabi Agricultural and Industrial complex, Khuzestan Province, Iran. A septic tank was used for collecting water samples followed by measuring the pH, and the concentrations of Phosphate and nitrate in the samples. The pH was set at 5, 7, 9 or 11. Six aluminum electrodes were placed perpendicular to the water flow and were connected to power in a single-polar method. They were used to assess the effects of pH changes, electrical power at 10 and 30 volts and the water retention time at 15, 30, 45 or 60 min. on the efficiency of the pollutants’ removal. Results: The results indicated that under equal retention time and varying pH values, as voltage increased from 10 to 30, the Phosphate and nitrate removal increased progressively. It was further demonstrated that the maximum Phosphate removal efficiency was achieved at pH7, while it declined at higher pH levels. The highest possible nitrate removal efficiency was achieved under alkaline pH levels. The overall results showed that at every pH and voltage, the percentage of Phosphate and nitrate removal increased over time. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that electro-coagulation process is an appropriate and efficient method to remove Phosphate and nitrate pollutants from sugarcane wastewaters.