RESUMEN
Floating adsorbents made from exfoliated vermiculite (EV) were tested for their ability to remove phosphate in aqueous solution. The modified vermiculites (MEV) were prepared with EV/glycerol ratio of 1/4 where glycerol contained 4 mol% H2SO4 and heated until designated temperatures. The highest specific surface area of 58.6 m(2)/g and carbon content of 62.2% were obtained for MEV heated at 580 °C and 380 °C, respectively. The dry density of MEV was decreased from 1.78 g/cm(3) (EV) to 0.25 g/cm(3), indicating these adsorbent floating characteristic. The MEV heated at 380 °C showed the highest Freundlich partition coefficient of 45.7 L/kg and the highest Langmuir sorption capacity of 714.3 mg/kg among other MEVs (476.2 mg/kg for MEV-580 and 181.8 mg/kg for MEV-780). Removal of phosphate using MEV heated at 380 °C was well explained by pseudo-second-order model and model parameters were comparable to other phosphate adsorption tests.