Conductimetric study of struvite crystallization in water as a function of pH

Abstract The main objective of this work was to investigate the best pH for phosphorus removal from synthetic aqueous solutions using chemical precipitation of struvite, at constant temperature. The experimental approach, developed in the present study, consisted to precipitate struvite in synthetic wastewater containing PO 4 3− , NH 4 + and Mg 2+ ions in an equal molar ratio, using a stirred tank with continuous monitoring by conductimetry, at 25 °C. Different laboratory experiments were used to evaluate the effects of pH in the range of 8.5 till 11.8, on size, shape, and purity of the precipitated crystals. Struvite crystals were characterized by Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning ele…