Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments

The expansion of economic and societal activities has resulted in higher concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in wastewater. This investigation examines the potential use of fly ash sourced from thermal power plants as a adsorbent to confiscate nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO43-) from such wast...

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Main Authors: Renu Bala, Asha Singh, Dinesh Arora, Rajesh Dhankhar, Kiran Bala, Sunil Kumar Chhikara
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Action for Sustainable Efficacious Development and Awareness 2025-06-01
Series:Environment Conservation Journal
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Online Access:https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3117
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author Renu Bala
Asha Singh
Dinesh Arora
Rajesh Dhankhar
Kiran Bala
Sunil Kumar Chhikara
author_facet Renu Bala
Asha Singh
Dinesh Arora
Rajesh Dhankhar
Kiran Bala
Sunil Kumar Chhikara
author_sort Renu Bala
collection DOAJ
description The expansion of economic and societal activities has resulted in higher concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in wastewater. This investigation examines the potential use of fly ash sourced from thermal power plants as a adsorbent to confiscate nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO43-) from such wastewater. Fly ash was treated with distilled water to neutralize it before being used as an adsorbent.  Batch studies were carried out to evaluate different factors impact the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate. The  adsorbent was characterized using Zeta Potential, FE-SEM, EDAX, and FTIR techniques. Optimal adsorption occurred at pH 6.0 for nitrate and pH 7.0 for phosphate, with an adsorbent amount of 0.25 g, initial NO3- and PO43- ion concentrations of 20 mg/l, and a temperature of 25 ℃ with a constant stirring of 100 rpm. The maximum sorption capacities were found to be 2.422 mg/g for NO3- and 3.402 mg/g for PO43- ions. The Freundlich isotherm model offered a more accurate representation of the adsorption data, while pseudo second-order kinetics indicated a well-defined adsorption mechanism with high R2 values of 0.996 & 0.9995 for nitrate and phosphate, correspondingly. Thermodynamic analysis suggested that the adsorption process was found to be exothermic and non-spontaneous at higher temperatures.
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language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Action for Sustainable Efficacious Development and Awareness
record_format Article
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spelling doaj-art-ea8bb22e709b4b7fac715a29dc948cc72025-08-20T03:22:52ZengAction for Sustainable Efficacious Development and AwarenessEnvironment Conservation Journal0972-30992278-51242025-06-0126210.36953/ECJ.31173008Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environmentsRenu Bala0Asha Singh1Dinesh Arora2Rajesh Dhankhar3Kiran Bala4Sunil Kumar Chhikara5University Institute of Engineering & Technology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, IndiaDepartment of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, IndiaDepartment of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, IndiaDepartment of Environmental Science, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, IndiaDepartment of Geography, KLP College, Rewari, Haryana, IndiaUniversity Institute of Engineering & Technology, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Haryana, India The expansion of economic and societal activities has resulted in higher concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in wastewater. This investigation examines the potential use of fly ash sourced from thermal power plants as a adsorbent to confiscate nitrate (NO3-) and phosphate (PO43-) from such wastewater. Fly ash was treated with distilled water to neutralize it before being used as an adsorbent.  Batch studies were carried out to evaluate different factors impact the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate. The  adsorbent was characterized using Zeta Potential, FE-SEM, EDAX, and FTIR techniques. Optimal adsorption occurred at pH 6.0 for nitrate and pH 7.0 for phosphate, with an adsorbent amount of 0.25 g, initial NO3- and PO43- ion concentrations of 20 mg/l, and a temperature of 25 ℃ with a constant stirring of 100 rpm. The maximum sorption capacities were found to be 2.422 mg/g for NO3- and 3.402 mg/g for PO43- ions. The Freundlich isotherm model offered a more accurate representation of the adsorption data, while pseudo second-order kinetics indicated a well-defined adsorption mechanism with high R2 values of 0.996 & 0.9995 for nitrate and phosphate, correspondingly. Thermodynamic analysis suggested that the adsorption process was found to be exothermic and non-spontaneous at higher temperatures. https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3117AdsorbentEutrophication IsothermsKinetics Thermodynamics
spellingShingle Renu Bala
Asha Singh
Dinesh Arora
Rajesh Dhankhar
Kiran Bala
Sunil Kumar Chhikara
Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
Environment Conservation Journal
Adsorbent
Eutrophication
Isotherms
Kinetics
Thermodynamics
title Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
title_full Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
title_fullStr Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
title_full_unstemmed Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
title_short Characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
title_sort characterization and performance of fly ash in the adsorption of nitrate and phosphate in aquatic environments
topic Adsorbent
Eutrophication
Isotherms
Kinetics
Thermodynamics
url https://journal.environcj.in/index.php/ecj/article/view/3117
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