Surface modification of fly ash spheroidal particles and their application in the adsorption of phosphorus and chromium(VI) from single and competitive solute systems

This work focuses on the surface modification of fly ash spheroidal particles and their application in phosphorus and chromium(VI) adsorption. The results show that through surface modification, amorphous silica-alumina gels precipitated on the spheroidal particle surface (by which the microsurface area of the reaction products is effectively enlarged) and the surface zeta potential was changed to fit for adsorbing anions. During the adsorption experiment (single and competitive solute systems), chromium(VI) was easier to adsorb. The surface zeta potential and the existence of competitive ions should be recognized as two important factors affecting adsorption efficiency. A higher temperature could improve the adsorption efficiencies of the two solute systems. The fitting results of the pseudo-second-order model (single and competitive solute systems) show better agreement than those of the pseudo-first-order model at every temperature. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm equation can better simulate the adsorption process in single solute sy039stems, but only the chromium(VI) adsorption process can be fitted by the competitive Langmuir adsorption isotherm in competitive solute systems.