Highly efficient fluoride extraction from simulant leachate of spent potlining via La-loaded chelating resin. An equilibrium study

[Display omitted] •Aqueous fluoride extraction via lanthanum-loaded chelating resin is demonstrated.•The uptake mechanism changes, dependant on initial fluoride concentration.•Uptake from multi-component leachate occurs mainly via aluminium hydroxyfluoride precipitation.•Maximum uptake is greater than previously reported for similar metal-loaded resins. Spent potlining (SPL) hazardous waste is a potentially valuable source of fluoride, which may be recovered through chemical leaching and adsorption with a selective sorbent. For this purpose, the commercially available chelating resin Purolite® S950+ was loaded with lanthanum ions, to create a novel ligand-exchange sorbent. The equilibrium fluoride uptake behaviour of the resin was thoroughly investigated, using NaF solution and a simulant leachate of SPL waste. The resin exhibited a large maximum defluoridation capacity of 187 ± 15 mg g−1 from NaF solution and 126 ± 10 mg g−1 from the leachate, with solution pH being strongly influential to uptake performance. Isotherm and spectral data indicated that both chemisorption and unexpected physisorption processes were involved in the fluoride extraction and suggested that the major uptake mechanism differed in each matrix. The resin demonstrates significant potential in the recovery of fluoride from aqueous waste-streams.