Phosphate interactions with iron-titanium oxide composites: Implications for phosphorus removal/recovery from wastewater

•Ti component in Fe-Ti composite leads to less Fe dissolution and FePO4 precipitate.•Ca enhanced P removal at pH 7 by precipitating surface-adsorbed P as hydroxyapatite.•Acetate increased Fe dissolution and favored FePO4 formation.•Fe-Ti composite is effective in P removal and recovery from wastewater. Understanding the interactions between phosphate (P) and mineral adsorbents is critical for removing and recovering P from wastewater, especially in the presence of both cationic and organic components. To this end, we investigated the surface interactions of P with an iron-titanium coprecipitated oxide composite in the presence of Ca (0.5–3.0 mM) and acetate (1–5 mM), and quantified the molecular complexes and tested the possible removal and recovery of P from real wastewater. A quantitative analysis of P K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) confirmed the inner-sphere surface complexation of P with both Fe and Ti, whose contribution to P adsorption relies on their surface charge determined by pH conditions. The effects of Ca and acetate on P removal were highly pH-dependent. At pH 7, Ca (0.5–3.0 mM) in solution significantly increased P removal by 13–30% by precipitating the surface-adsorbed P, forming hydroxyapatite (14–26%). The presence of acetate had no obvious influence on P removal capacity and molecular mechanisms at pH 7. At pH 4, the removal amount of P was not obviously affected by the presence of Ca and acetate. However, acetate and high Ca concentration jointly facilitated the formation of amorphous FePO4 precipitate, complicating the interactions of P with Fe-Ti composite. In comparison with ferrihydrite, the Fe-Ti composite significantly decreased the formation of amorphous FePO4 probably by decreasing Fe dissolution due to the coprecipitated Ti component, facilitating further P recovery. An understanding of these microscopic mechanisms can lead to the successful use and simple regeneration of the adsorbent to recover P from real wastewater.