Ceramic material for fluoride and phosphate ions removal from natural water

The research presents the development of ceramic material that can be used for fluoride and phosphate ions removal from natural water. The composition and the production technology of ceramic material containing lanthanum compound have been developed. Its physical and mechanical characteristics have been determined, and its binding capacity for fluoride and phosphate ions has been studied. The process of fluoride and phosphate ions binding in the developed ceramic material is shown to occur because of ionicinteraction forces, where the ceramic material serves as a matrix with the fixed lanthanum ions with the increased chemical affinity for fluoride and phosphate ions. The microporous structure of the developed ceramic material facilitates ionic interaction of fluoride and phosphate ions with lanthanum ions throughout the entire material. The addition of 6 wt.% lanthanum carbonate into the charge might help producing an effective ceramic material used for the natural water treatment containing up to 5 mg/l of phosphate ions and up to 13 mg/l of fluoride ions. Environmental safety of the material has been proved experimentally