Co-precipitation of Cd with struvite during phosphorus recovery

Abstract

During the struvite recovery process, Cd, a hazardous metal commonly found in waste streams, can be sequestered by struvite. This study investigated the influence of Cd2+ on the precipitation of struvite. Quantitative X-ray diffraction (QXRD) results showed that the purity of struvite decreased from 99.1% to 73.6% as Cd concentration increased from 1 to 500 μM. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed a roughened surface of struvite, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis indicated that the peak area ratio of Cd–OH increased from 19.4% to 51.3%, while the area ratio of Cd-PO4 decreased from 86.6% to 48.7% as Cd concentrations increased from 10 to 500 μM. The findings suggested that Cd2+ disrupted the crystal growth of struvite, and mainly combined with –OH and -PO4 to form amorphous Cd-bearing compounds co-precipitated with struvite. Additionally, Mg-containing amorphous phases were formed by incorporating Mg2+ with –OH and -PO4 during struvite formation.