title: Study on the mechanism of copper-ammonia complex decomposition in struvite formation process and enhanced ammonia and copper removal.
abstract: Heavy metals and ammonia are difficult to remove from wastewater, as they easily combine into refractory complexes. The struvite formation method (SFM) was applied for the complex decomposition and simultaneous removal of heavy metal and ammonia. The results indicated that ammonia deprivation by SFM was the key factor leading to the decomposition of the copper-ammonia complex ion. Ammonia was separated from solution as crystalline struvite, and the copper mainly co-precipitated as copper hydroxide together with struvite. Hydrogen bonding and electrostatic attraction were considered to be the main surface interactions between struvite and copper hydroxide. Hydrogen bonding was concluded to be the key factor leading to the co-precipitation. In addition, incorporation of copper ions into the struvite crystal also occurred during the treatment process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Cong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Liyuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chai
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China. Electronic address: chjtang@csu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Chongjian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Yuxia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Chengshan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Metallurgy and Environment, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; Chinese National Engineering Research Centre for Control and Treatment of Heavy Metal Pollution, Changsha 410083, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000641:Ammonia / Q000737:chemistry*; D056831:Coordination Complexes / Q000737:chemistry; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D000069877:Struvite / Q000737:chemistry*; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000641:Ammonia; D056831:Coordination Complexes; D003300:Copper; D000069877:Struvite; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Ammonia removal; Co-precipitation; Copper hydroxide; Copper–ammonia complex; Heavy-metal-containing wastewater; Struvite formation