As one of basic studies of removal of phosphorus from waste-water, formation and change of calcium phosphates in aqueous solution were investigated. Calcium chloride solutions with different amounts of sodium hydroxide were added rapidly to phosphoric acid solution (total 500 ml, P
2O
5=2, 000 mg/L, CaO/P
2O
5 mole ratio 3. 33) at 25°C and the products were aged for 15 minutes to 1 day. Precipitates and filtrates were tested by X-ray and chemical analysis. Main constituents in the precipitates were dicalcium phosphate at pH 5.5, octacalcium phosphate at pH 5.5-6.0, and hydroxyapatite (HAp) 6.0-7.5. The phosphate content of the filtrate decreased with rising pH. The precipitates above pH 7.5 consisted of HAp with poor crystallinity or amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) which apparently was more soluble than HAp … the plots of P
2O
5 vs. pH thus discontinued around pH 7.5.
The precipitates first formed at pH 6. 0-7.5 were mainly HAp with very poor crystallinity or ACP which changed into HAp in 5-30 minutes resulting in pH lowering. The precipitates at pH 6-9 in 30 minutes aging had the CaO/P
2O
5 mole ratio of 2.7-3.0, which increased to 2.9-3.1 for 1 day.
The filterability of the precipitates was closely related to the types of compounds. The effects of Na
+ and NH
4+ were examined as well as of the different mixing methods of the solutions.
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