On the purpose of recycling mussel shells, it was used as an adsorbent for the removal of phosphate.
The study has shown that phosphate removal could be enhanced by presence of higher amounts of calcium. Among the parameters studied, pH has proved to be the key variable for orthophosphate uptake.
The results showed that mussel shell powder is more effective at lower initial solution pH. Besides, the mussel shell powder, adsorbed-phosphate product is environment friendly because of its potential application as a fertilizer for acidic soils.
The results also showed that the interactions between phosphate ions and the surface of the modified mussel shell powder at higher initial solutions pH values were more effective than that of natural mussel shell powder.