Molycorp XSORBX™-100 is a water-soluble, rare-earth based formula engineered to remove phosphorus from waste, process, pool/spa, and recreational waters. The solution can be integrated into almost any treatment process inexpensively, simply, and precisely. Because XSORBX™-100 ranges from a colorless to light amber color solution, its use eliminates the problems of ugly stains typical of soluble ferric-based products. XSORBX™-100 acts to precipitate phosphorus as a stable and non-toxic particle that can be easily be removed via settling clarifiers or filtration.
Removing Phosphorous in Municipal and Industrial Wastewater
Removing nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates from large wastewater treatment systems is a significant and costly challenge for today’s municipal and industrial wastewater treatment operators. Phosphorous levels in wastewater are growing due to the growing use of detergents and fertilizers.
A recent review of the US EPA’s Enforcement & Compliance History Online (ECHO) database shows that, between 2007-2010, there were over 330 U.S. wastewater treatment plants that had one or more phosphorous effluent violations for exceeding the daily maximum contaminant limits (MCL). These facilities represent over 4 billion gallons of wastewater treated each day (Source: Molycorp internal analysis).
Existing Approaches
A number of treatment approaches for removing phosphorous from wastewater exist today, including physical (filtration, membranes), chemical (precipitation, physical-chemical adsorption), and biological (assimilation, enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR).
Traditionally, a widely used and cost effective method for phosphorous removal was the use of chemical precipitation via calcium (lime), aluminum, or iron based compounds. Currently, ferric salts (i.e. ferric chloride) in a soluble form are the standard. However, there are several disadvantages to this approach, including the large amounts of material required and sludge produced.
XSORBX™-100: Simple, Inexpensive, and Precise
The exceptional phosphorus removal capacity of XSORBX™-100 is attributed to the unique and advanced chemistry of our proprietary rare-earth mixture. This product is highly adaptable, which allows the removal capacity to be maintained over a wide pH and temperature range. The activity of XSORBX™- 100 also is highly efficient as it targets and tightly complexes phosphorus on an equal atomic level.
In comparison, ferric-based products require a large excess as they weakly bind phosphorus in a cloud of iron. The net benefit of XSORBX™-100 over ferric-based product is enhanced efficiency for phosphorus removal that results in reduced reagent use, fewer reagent refills, decreased solids precipitation, and increased plant or process capacities.
The graphs at right demonstrate the outstanding performance of XSORBX™-100 in a municipal wastewater treatment system.
When added in a 1:1 molecular ratio with orthophosphate (PO43), XSORBX™-100 clearly outperforms ferric-based products both in terms of removal capacity, defined as mg PO43- removed per gram of fixant product added, and percentage of PO43- removed.
Removal capacities and percentages are even higher in recreational water as they have a much lower concentration of impurities that can compete for XSORBX™-100 complexation sites. Additionally, the orthophosphate fixation kinetics of XSORBX™-100 are extremely fast, making it an effective product for so low residence time requirements are not an issue.
How XSORBX™-100 Is Applied
XSORBX™-100 can be added into water treatment process in a variety of locations throughout the treatment train. Optimal phosphorus removal performance can be determined through careful consideration of influent characteristics, the chemistry, and addition points of other chemical treatment products. In a typical waste-water system, XSORBX™-100 performs very well when added after aeration basins and before or into clarification ponds. Precipitated solids are separated out in clarifiers, and can be disposed of as non-hazardous waste.
Removal capacities and percentages are even higher in recreational water, as they have a much lower concentration of impurities that can compete for XSORBX™-100 complexation sites. Additionally, the orthophosphate fixation kinetics of XSORBX™-100 are extremely fast, making it an effective product for so low residence time requirements are not an issue.
XSORBX™-100 can be added into water treatment process in a variety of locations throughout the treatment train. Optimal phosphorus removal performance can be determined through careful consideration of influent characteristics, the chemistry, and addition points of other chemical treatment products. In a typical waste-water system, XSORBX™-100 performs very well when added after aeration basins and before or into clarification ponds. Precipitated solids are separated out in clarifiers, and can be disposed of as non-hazardous waste.