Comparative Study of Ammonium and Orthophosphate Removal Efficiency with Natural and Modified Clay-Based Materials, for Sustainable Management of Eutrophic Water Bodies

Irene Biliani, Vasiliki Tsavatopoulou and Ierotheos Zacharias ()
Additional contact information
Irene Biliani: Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Vasiliki Tsavatopoulou: Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece
Ierotheos Zacharias: Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Patras, 26504 Patras, Greece

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 23, 1-17

Abstract: Eutrophication, a global threat that leads to degradation of freshwater and seawater aquatic ecosystems, is driven by excessive nutrient loading. This study explores the sustainable management of eutrophic water bodies with the application of natural and modified clay-based materials as a practical solution to mitigate eutrophication by removing ammonium and orthophosphate ions. Comparative analyses of six materials: natural zeolite, bentonite, and perlite, along with their modification with calcium and iron, were assessed after kinetic analysis of each material. Batch adsorption experiments were performed to evaluate the material’s performance in fresh and seawater. Fitting experimental data assessed adsorption kinetics to pseudo-second-order models. Furthermore, Langmuir isotherm models were employed to determine each material’s maximum adsorption capacity for ammonium and orthophosphate ion uptake. The results revealed that freshwater applications of modified zeolite or natural bentonite achieved better orthophosphate ion removal efficiency from seawater, whereas employing natural zeolite maximized the ammonium ion removal efficiency in freshwater bodies. Finally, orthophosphate and ammonium ion removal efficiency results for almost all materials were diminished in seawater. This research contributes valuable insights to the development of efficient and sustainable nutrient removal methodologies to remediate natural eutrophic water bodies and protect aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: ammonium ions; orthophosphate ions; zeolite; bentonite; perlite; modifications; coastal; freshwater; adsorption; removal efficiency; sustainability; management; capacity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10214/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/23/10214/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:23:p:10214-:d:1526729

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().