Enhanced electrosorption selectivity of phosphate using an anion-exchange resin-coated activated carbon electrode

Regenerable methods for phosphate (P) recycling have received intense attention due to their potential environmental and economic benefits. In this study, to improve the electrosorptive removal of P in membrane capacitive deionization, an activated carbon (AC) electrode was coated with a heterogeneous anion-exchange resin layer, and named the AE-AC composite electrode. It was shown that the AE-AC electrode exhibited a good capacitive behavior for electrical double-layer charging. The batch-mode experiments indicted that when the solution pH changed from 5 to 8, the predominant P species shifted from monovalent H2PO4− to divalent HPO42− that was preferentially electroadsorbed for competitive electrosorption with Cl−. Importantly, the AE-AC composite electrode significantly increased the selectivity coefficient of P over Cl− to 0.56 that was 2.24-fold greater than that of the uncoated AC electrode, at 1.2 V in single-pass mode operation. This improvement can be ascribed to the preferential transport of P through the thin coating layer containing quaternary amine functional groups. The permselectivity of the coating also significantly increased the electrosorption capacity of P from 0.031 to 0.101 mmol/g with a high charge efficiency (97%) by the reduction in the co-ion repulsion effect. When the reverse voltage (−1.2 V) was applied, electroadsorbed P was reversibly desorbed from the AE-AC electrode in repeated operation. This work suggests that coating an anion-exchange resin layer on the surface of a carbon electrode shows great potential to improve the selective removal of P through electrosorption.