Removal of Phosphate from Synthetic Aqueous Solution by Adsorption with Dolomite from Padalarang

The presence of phosphate in wastewaters can cause eutrophication of surface water bodies leading to algal-blooming in the aquatic environment and degradation of water quality. Phosphate removal from wastewaters by conventional biological treatment removes only 10-30% of the phosphate, whilst chemical treatment using precipitants such as calcium or iron salts, although effective, is expensive and produces water-rich sludge which must be further treated. Hence, phosphate removal by adsorption in the form of Ca -phosphate has been proposed as an alternative to the more traditional methods. This study investigated the feasibility of using dolomite–a common sedimentary rock–from Padalarang, West Java, Indonesia as the adsorbent for the removal of phosphate from synthetic aqueous solution. Chemical analysis revealed that the Padalarang dolomite contains 33.6-36.2% CaO. Batch experiments at room temperature indicated that optimum removal of phosphate was achieved at pH 9. At 25°C , where increasing concentrations of phosphate (10–100 mg/L) increased phosphate adsorption (2.15-31.3 mg/g) by the dolomite. The adsorption of phosphate could be described by the Langmuir isotherm model, with constants Qm= 476.19 mg/g, K L= 0,00106 L/mg and equilibrium parameter (R L): 0.904 – 0.989. Phosphate adsorption by dolomite not only permits its removal but also its potential recovery for reuse