Work

Cost‐Effective Magnetic LDHs for Simultaneous Sludge Dewatering and Phosphorus Recovery: A Scalable Approach for Municipal Wastewater Plants

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Phosphorus recovery from municipal sludge is essential to reduce environmental pollution and address the global phosphorus crisis. This study introduces a magnetic Fe/Mg/Zn-layered double hydroxide (LDH) composite for simultaneous phosphorus recovery and sludge dewatering from municipal wastewater. The synthesized composite exhibits a high phosphorus adsorption capacity of 25.79 mg/g, a reduction in sludge-specific resistance by 77.43%, and a 24.95% decrease in moisture content. The phosphorus adsorption process follows a pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm, and chemisorption mainly drives phosphorus adsorption. The characterization results showed that precipitation, complexation, and ligand exchange were the main adsorption mechanisms of phosphorus. The material maintains excellent performance across a wide pH range (3-11), with over 90% phosphorus removal efficiency after 5 cycles of adsorption-desorption. These results demonstrate the material's potential for sustainable and cost-effective phosphorus recovery and sludge management in wastewater treatment plants.

Source: Water Environment Research

DOI: 10.1002/wer.70159

Authors: Weiliang Cao, Hongwei Song, Manlin Li, Zhongyi Yang

Institution: Inner Mongolia University of Technology

Language: English

Topic: Phosphorus and nutrient management

Subfield: Waste Management and Disposal

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Clean water and sanitation, Responsible consumption and production

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Natural Science Foundation of Inner Mongolia