OPTIMIZATION OF PARAMETERS FOR REMOVAL OF PHOSPHATE FROM PHARMACEUTICAL EFFLUENT BY CHEMICAL PRECIPITATION USING CaCO3

Phosphate is an important nutrient that occurs widely in the environment. It is the key elements necessary for the growth of plants and animals. It is the eleventh most abundant element on the surface of the earth and is most commonly found as phosphate. High phosphate concentration leads to eutrophication and also health problems such as kidney damage, osteoporosis and hyperphosphatemia. Therefore it is necessary to remove phosphate to minimize the health and environmental effects. The present study aimed to investigate effects of different parameters like dosage of CaCO3, time, pH, dosage of alum, dosage of dolomite for the removal of phosphate from the pharmaceutical effluent has been studied.