Boron sorption from aqueous solution by hydrotalcite and its preliminary application in geothermal water deboronation

Hydrotalcite and its calcination product were used to treat pure water spiked with various concentrations of boron and geothermal water containing boron as a major undesirable element. The kinetics process of boron sorption by uncalcined hydrotalcite is controlled by the diffusion of boron from bulk solution to sorbent-solution boundary film and its exchange with interlayer chloride of hydrotalcite, whereas the removal rate of boron by calcined hydrotalcite rests with the restoration process of its layered structure. The results of isotherm sorption experiments reveal that calcined hydrotalcite generally has much stronger ability to lower solution boron concentration than uncalcined hydrotalcite. The combination of adsorption of boron on the residue of MgO–Al₂O₃ solid solution and intercalation of boron into the reconstructed hydrotalcite structure due to “structural memory effect” is the basic mechanism based on which the greater boron removal by calcined hydrotalcite was achieved. As 15 geothermal water samples were used to test the deboronation ability of calcined hydrotalcite at 65 °C, much lower boron removal efficiencies were observed. The competitive sorption of the other anions in geothermal water, such as HCO₃ ^?, SO₄ ^2?, and F^?, is the reason why calcined hydrotalcite could not remove boron from geothermal water as effectively as from pure boron solution. However, boron removal percents ranging from 89.3 to 99.0 % could be obtained if 50 times of sorbent were added to the geothermal water samples. Calcined hydrotalcite is a good candidate for deboronation of geothermal water.