A Study on Recycling of Waste Oyster Shells as Seed Crystals in Phosphorous Crystallization Process

정석탈인공정의 정석재로써 폐굴껍질의 재활용에 관한 연구

The technology of removing phosphorous, considered as one of the most important control nutrients causing eutrophication in various water bodies, have been investigated by many researchers. Recently, phosphorous crystallization process is emerging as a new technology for phosphorous removal. In this study, waste oyster shells which can be easily obtained from the ocean, were used as a seed crystal, and their effects of several physical/chemical factors on the phosphorous removal efficiencies were examined by batch tests. Ca$^{2+}$ and pH affected phosphorous crystallization process using waste oyster shells. As alkalinity of wastewater increased, phosphorous removal efficiencies gradually decreased. Phosphorous removal efficiencies were increased, as specific area and contact efficiency per unit area of waste oyster shells were increased. In case of high temperature, phosphorous crystallization process was rapidly advanced and phosphorous removal efficiencies were increased. Dependig on X-ray diffraction analysis, it was showed that generation materials extracted from the surface of waste oyster shells with short reaction time were dominated by $CaHPO_4\cdot 2H_2O$, but progressed to $Ca_5(OH)(PO_4)_3$. The SEM observation reveals that the evident variations were hardly seen, but particle sizes of waste oyster shells were relatively bigger and showed forms of smaller plate than before.