This study was designed to investigate the fundamental aspects of a possible system for removing phosphorus ions from wastewater by ion exchange on a zirconium-sulfate-surfactant mesostructured material (ZS). ZS was synthesized by hydrothermal synthesis at 100°C for 48 hr. The highly ordered hexagonal structure of ZS was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and transmission electron micrography (TEM). The lattice constant, wall thickness and pore diameter were approximately 47, 17 and 30 Å, respectively. The equilibrium amount of phosphate ions exchanged into ZS at room temperature was as high as 3.4mmol·g-1-ZS. A fourier-transformation infrared (FT-IR) study and quantitative analyses of introduced P and released S revealed that ion exchange between PO43- and SO42- first occurs during the reaction followed by that between PO43- with OH-. The structure of ZS was essentially maintained after the ion exchange. It follows that ZS would be a highly efficient ion exchanger for removing phosphate ions.
