By itself, apatite is highly effective at sequestering many types of inorganic contaminants. The highly flexible structure of the apatite molecule allows for many substitutions, making it a "natural vacuum cleaner" for many pollutants.
Apatite is highly effective at sorbing and sequestering many common contaminants including:
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As |
Ba |
Cd
Cadmium |
Cu
Copper |
F
Flourine |
Mn
Manganese |
Pb
Lead |
Sn
Tin |
Sr
Strontium |
U
Uranium |
Zn
Zinc |
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Apatite is also effective at sorbing and sequestering other elements including:
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B |
Bi |
Co
Cobalt |
Cr
Chromium |
I
Iodine |
Ni
Nickle |
P
Phosphorus |
Ra
Radium |
Se
Selenium |
V
Vanadium |
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Apatite also has a great capacity for adsorbing many rare earth elements including:
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Am |
Ce |
Eu
Europium |
Gd
Gadolinium |
La
Lanthanum |
Nd
Neodymium |
Pr
Praseodymium |
Sm
Samarium |
Th
Thorium |
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Apatite reacted with Phosphorus? I thought apatite contained phosphorus?
Many natural forms of apatite contain up to 30 % calcium carbonate in the mix. This harmless co-occurring mineral converts to apatite (calcium phosphate) under the right conditions and can therefore remove phosphate from contaminated waters.