Algae & Phosphate Removal
Lanthanum Chloride (LaCl3) is a safe and effective chemical used for treatment in aquariums, water parks, neighborhood ponds and lakes as well as in aquatic habitats for the prevention of algae growth. Lanthanum is a rare earth metal that is very effective at preventing build up of phosphate in water. In the form of Lanthanum Chloride a small dose introduced to phosphate laden water immediately forms small flocs of LaPO4 precipitate which can then be filtered using a sand filter.
LaCl3 is especially effective in reducing very high phosphate concentrations.
Advantages
- Removes phosphate down to <10 ppb (<0.01 mg/L)
- Hinders growth of algae due to low phosphate level
- Will not discolor the water system
- Enables reduced chlorine usage for algae control
Product Specifications
Specific Concentration: Lanthanum (III) Chloride 28% TREO solution, 99% La2O3/TREO
LaCl3 Specifications |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TREO | >= 27%, <= 29% | |||||||||
| La2O3/TREO | >= 99% | |||||||||
| CeO2/TREO | reported on COA | |||||||||
| Pr6O11/TREO | reported on COA | |||||||||
| Nd2O3/TREO | reported on COA | |||||||||
| Na2O | reported on COA | |||||||||
| SiO2 | reported on COA | |||||||||
| pH | 3.0 - 5.0 | |||||||||
Ecologix Environmental Systems offers two rare earth chloride solutions that are used for phosphate abatement: lanthanum chloride and cerium/lanthanum chloride (CLC). Both solutions are very effective at removing phosphates from water due to their high affinity for phosphorus and wider effective pH range. Each product reacts with phosphorus in a 1:1 molar ratio, which reduces the amount of solution needed to achieve the desired phosphate level and produces less sludge.
Ecologix sells lanthanum chloride to customers in the zoo, aquarium, fishery, landscape maintenance, and swimming pool industries. Most clients see excellent results in phosphate reduction. For example, one of our zoo clients has removed enough phosphorus from their sealion exhibit to see a major reduction in algal growth. The lanthanum then serves as a filter aid, resulting in clearer water in the tank. Other customers use lanthanum chloride to control algal growth in park and golf course ponds. Because rare earth metals like lanthanum and cerium are shown to exhibit such low toxicity characteristics, many commercial aquariums and fisheries use these chemicals to control nutrient abatement, which prevents toxic algal blooms.
CLC is a newer product than Lanthanum Chloride. It has been used in the wheat, gluten and starch industry. CLC is used to treat the water leaving these production facilities.
Toxicity
The rare earths as a group tend to have LD50’s above 3,000 mg/kg, classifying them as moderately or slightly toxic. Even though rare earth elements may cause skin and eye irritation, they are generally poorly absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, skin and lungs.1 The acute toxicity of both cerium and lanthanum has been studied and was found to be low.1 As of 2014, the EPA has not classified any rare earth elements as carcinogens.
The EPA has derived Provisional Peer Reviewed Toxicity Values (PPRTV) for lanthanum and cerium compounds. PPRTV is a toxicity value derived after a review of relevant scientific literature using the same methods used by the EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) Program.
Specialty Chemicals
Filtration Media
