Co-immobilization of clinoptilolite and nanostructured hydrated ferric-zirconium binary oxide via polyvinyl alcohol-alginate covalent cross-linking for simultaneous deep removal of aqueous low-level nitrogen and phosphorus

A novel absorbent, PVA/SA-CFZ, was developed by jointly enveloping nanostructured hydrated ferric-zirconium binary oxide and clinoptilolite in the cross-linking of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/sodium alginate (SA). As a result, the cation exchange capacity of clinoptilolite and electrostatic attraction capacity of hydrated ferric-zirconium binary oxide can be integrated for the simultaneous removal of nitrogen and phosphorus from wastewater. The adsorption behavior of PVA/SA-CFZ for the co-existing ammonium and phosphate was primarily investigated by batch experiments. Over a wide pH range (4 ~ 11), PVA/SA-CFZ always showed the excellent adsorption performance both for the low-concentration ammonium (