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Layered double hydroxides (LDH) hold great promise as phosphate adsorbents; however, the conventional binary LDH exhibits low adsorption rate and adsorption capacity. In this study, Mg and La were chosen as binary metals in the synthesis of Mg-La LDH to enhance phosphate efficient adsorption. Different molar ratios of Mg to La (2:1, 3:1, and 4:1) were investigated to further enhance P adsorption. The best performing Mg-La LDH, with Mg to La ratio is 4:1 (LDH-4), presented a larger adsorption capacity and faster adsorption rate than other Mg-La LDH. The maximum adsorption capacity (87.23 mg/g) and the rapid adsorption rate in the initial 25 min of LDH-4 (70 mg/(g·h)) were at least 1.6 times and 1.8 times higher than the others. The kinetics, isotherms, the effect of initial pH and co-existing anions, and the adsorption-desorption cycle experiment were studied. The batch experiment results proved that the chemisorption progress occurred on the single-layered LDH surface and the optimized LDH exhibited strong anti-interference capability. Furthermore, the structural characteristics and adsorption mechanism were further investigated by SEM, BET, FTIR, XRD, and XPS. The characterization results showed that the different metal ratios could lead to changes in the metal hydroxide layer and the main ions inside. At lower Mg/La ratios, distortion occurred in the hydroxide layer, resulting in lower crystallinity and lower performance. The characterization results also proved that the main mechanisms of phosphate adsorption are electrostatic adsorption, ion exchange, and inner-sphere complexation. The results emphasized that the Mg-La LDH was efficient in phosphate removal and could be successfully used for this purpose., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

In this study, the effect of anaerobic duration on phosphorus (P) removal in reversed AAO (anoxic-anaerobic-oxic) process was investigated using synthetic wastewater (with different volatile fatty acid (VFA) ratios) and real wastewater. The P, poly-hydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), dehydrogenase activity (DHA), polyphosphate kinases (PPK), electron transfer system (ETS), and adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) were determined as indicators. The highest P removal efficiencies were achieved at an anaerobic duration of 3, 4, and 6 h for 15, 30, and 60% VFA ratio in synthetic wastewater. The amount of the released P and stored PHAs can be manipulated by different anaerobic durations, but the P removal efficiency cannot be guaranteed with higher stored PHAs. Additionally, the energy metabolism confirmed the significance of anaerobic duration extension on microbial activity. The highest values of four indicators were all achieved at anaerobic duration of 4 h with 30% VFAs ratio which achieved the highest P removal efficiency. Real wastewater experiments also proved the reproductivity of these results. We defined this phenomenon as the "hunger response" where microorganisms responded to suppression (anaerobic duration extension) with higher activity after the end of the anaerobic condition. These results can provide references for better design and operation of biological phosphorus removal in RAAO process., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)