Yang, Y.Y.YangZhao, Y.Q.Y.Q.ZhaoKearney, P.P.Kearney2011-08-312011-08-312008 Elsev2008-12-15Chemical Engineering Journal1385-8947http://hdl.handle.net/10197/3138In line with the increasing studies on the beneficial reuse of alum sludge from a “waste” into useful raw material, this paper reports an in-depth investigation of the effects of ageing time on the structure and the phosphate adsorption capacity of a dewatered alum sludge obtained from a local drinking water treatment plant in Ireland. During the ageing period from 0 day to up to 18 months, the adsorption capacity of the sludge varied from 21.4 to 23.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 4.3, 14.3 to 14.9 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 7.0 and 0.9 to 1.1 mg-P g-1-sludge at pH 9.0, respectively, indicating marginal effect of ageing time on such sludge's ability to adsorb phosphate. This result seems conflict with other studies reported in the literature. To reveal such, series of investigations including physicochemical characterization, morphological structure, BET surface area and porous structure of the aged sludge were carried out. All the results conclusively show that ageing time has insignificant effect on the structure and properties of the dewatered alum sludge and thus the phosphate adsorption capacity of the alum sludge remains insignificant change during the ageing.535535 bytesapplication/pdfenThis is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Chemical Engineering Journal. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Chemical Engineering Journal, 145 (2): 276-284 DOI 10.1016/j.cej.2008.04.026.Alum sludgeAdsorptionPhosphorus removalAgeing timePore structureSurface areaWater treatment plant residualsPhosphates--Absorption and adsorptionAlum--StructureJournal Article145227628410.1016/j.cej.2008.04.026https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/1.0/