Optimizing production of hydroxyapatite from alkaline residue for removal of Pb²⁺ from wastewater

Highlights: • The solid waste from Soda Ash Plants was firstly converted into the high-efficiency adsorbent (O-HAP). • The response surface methodology was used to optimize the preparation conditions of O-HAP. • The O-HAP showed excellent immobilization ability for Pb²⁺ in both aqueous and soil medium. • The maximum adsorption capacity for Pb²⁺ (1429 mg/g) was considerably greater than other familiar adsorbents. - Abstract: Alkaline residue, a common solid waste generated from the ammonia-soda process for the production of soda ash, has been converted into hydroxyapatite for Pb²⁺ removal from wastewater. Response surface methodology was used to optimize the preparation conditions which were Ca/P (molar ratio), reaction temperature and reaction time, with the Pb²⁺ removal percentage as targeted response. The optimum conditions were identified to be Ca/P of 1.29, reaction temperature of 165.87 °C and reaction time of 14.5 h. Batch tests were conducted to evaluate the adsorption performance of optimum adsorbent (O-HAP), and the adsorption data were analyzed with different kinetic and isotherm models. The results showed that the pseudo-second order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model could best describe the adsorption of Pb²⁺ on O-HAP. The maximum adsorption capacity calculated from Langmuir equation was 1429 mg/g, which was greater than other familiar adsorbents. The MINTEQ results predicted that the formation of different Pb precipitates was the main mechanism in Pb²⁺ removal process, which was in good agreement with the kinetic and thermodynamic studies and were confirmed by the SEM-EDS and XRD analysis. In addition to aqueous medium, the O-HAP also could efficiently immobilize Pb²⁺ from contaminated soil