Grantee Research Project Results
2024 Progress Report: Zirconium-modified mica coupled with nanobubble for enhanced phosphorus removal, recovery, and reuse
EPA Grant Number: SU840866Title: Zirconium-modified mica coupled with nanobubble for enhanced phosphorus removal, recovery, and reuse
Investigators: Zhang, Lijie , Zhang, Wen
Institution: New Jersey Institute of Technology
EPA Project Officer: Cunniff, Sydney
Phase: I
Project Period: January 1, 2024 through April 25, 2025
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2024 through December 31,2024
Project Amount: $75,000
RFA: 20th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet Request for Applications (RFA) (2023) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Urban Air Toxics , Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil/Water , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
Excessive discharge of phosphorus (P) to the environment resulted in eutrophication of waterbodies, impaired aquatic ecosystem functions and compromised human and ecosystem health. Additionally, the demand for P has increased greatly primarily in agriculture applications due to the growing population and dietary changes. Therefore, it is imperative to remove, recover, and reuse P from wastewater using novel and sustainable approaches. Particularly, removal of organic P (e.g., phosphonates) is inadequate in traditional biological wastewater treatment that is usually designed to remove inorganic P. Advanced oxidation processes (AOP) are recognized as promising technologies for phosphonate degradation. However, extensive use of chemicals (e.g., persulfate, H2O2) are required and subsequent treatment for inorganic P is still needed. This project thus proposes an integrated method by coupling novel sorbents with oxygen (O2) to achieve phosphonate degradation and phosphate adsorption simultaneously as well as their reuse as slow-release fertilizers. The proposed research activities will investigate (1) modification of mica minerals with zirconium (Zr) and assessment of enhanced reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by combination of ferrous Fe(II)-bearing mineral with O2; (2) evaluation of simultaneous degradation of organic phosphonate and adsorption of inorganic P species from wastewater by coupling sorbent and O2; and (3) evaluation of the desorption of P from the P-laden mica sorbents as slow-release fertilizers.
Progress Summary:
Outputs:
During the 2024 project period, we successfully incorporated Zr onto biotite to prepare Zr-modified biotite. Characterization using XRD, BET, and SEM confirmed the Zr loading, which resulted in an increased specific surface area. Compared to raw biotite, the Zr-modified biotite exhibited enhanced adsorption of both phosphate and phosphonate. Investigations into the effects of the water matrix on adsorption revealed that the Zr-modified biotite retained its adsorption capacity for phosphate and phosphonate even in reverse osmosis concentrate. Furthermore, the degradation of phosphonates by biotite in the presence of O2 was examined. The results demonstrate that coupled biotite and O2 significantly promoted phosphonate degradation.
The Ph.D. student researcher, Lai We, submitted an abstract of our findings to the AEESP2025 conference at Duke University and the abstract was accepted for a poster presentation. He will present our findings at the conference this May. A manuscript was submitted and was under review. This project included collaboration among Ph.D. students Lai Wei, Wencong Xing, and an undergraduate student Alexander Millo.
Outcomes:
We demonstrated that the Zr modification of biotite significantly enhanced its adsorption of both phosphate and phosphonate from < 0.5 mg-P·g-1 by raw biotite to as high as 16 mg-P·g-1. The adsorption was not affected by complicated water matrix, such as the presence of high concentrations of anions (e.g., Cl-, NO3-, SO42-) and cations (e.g., Na+, K+, Mg2+). Specifically, Zr-modified biotite exhibited strong adsorption for phosphate and phosphonates simultaneously and effectively removed over 98% of the total phosphorus from reverse osmosis concentrate. Additionally, the presence of biotite enhanced the degradation of phosphonate to phosphate, which was attributed to the generation of hydroxyl radicals. The conversion of organic P to phosphate with subsequent adsorption to Zr-modified biotite holds great promise for application as slow-release fertilizers, providing a sustainable approach for P management of reverse osmosis brine.
Future Activities:
Investigate the mechanisms of phosphonate degradation involving biotite and oxygen, evaluate the impacts of water matrix on phosphonate degradation, assess the attributes of P-laden minerals as slow-release fertilizers by investigating the P release kinetics and determining plant-available P pool using them in soil incubation; submit another manuscript and attend conferences.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 1 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
wastewater treatment, green material, phosphate, phosphonate, resource recoveryProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.