The presence of excessive amounts of nutrients including phosphates in water is undesirable. They cause the deterioration of water quality and problems in many natural and engineering systems. The recycling of agricultural waste materials as biosorbents for contaminants removal provides a cheap and ecological means to reduce wastes. This study explored the use of date palm wastes for the effective removal of phosphate from aqueous solutions. Granular date stones (GDS) and palm surface fibres (PSF) as raw abundant waste materials were examined for PO 4 -3 removal from aqueous solution. The experimental work was performed in a batch mode to investigate the influence of initial phosphate concentration, contact time, and pH of solution on phosphate biosorption. The FT-IR spectra for the waste materials display many adsorption peaks, confirming the complex nature of the GDS and PSF. Phosphate percentage removal up to 87 and 85% were obtained at initial PO 4 -3 concentration of 50 mg as P/L using GDS and PSF, respectively. Due to their low cost and high capability, these types of waste can be used for cost-effective removal of phosphate from wastewater.
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