In this study, lithium intercalated gibbsite (LIG) was investigated for its effectiveness at removing phosphate from water and the mechanisms involved. LIG was prepared through intercalating LiCl into gibbsite giving a structure of [LiAl2(OH)(6)](+) layers with interlayer Cl- and water. The results of batch adsorption experiments showed that the adsorption isotherms at various pHs exhibited an L-shape and could be fitted well using the Langmuir model. The Langmuir adsorption maximum was determined to be 3.0 mmol g(-1) at pH 4.5 and decreased with increasing pH. The adsorption of phosphate was mainly through the displacement of the interlayer Cl- ions in LIG. In conjunction with the anion exchange reaction, the formation of surface complexes or precipitates could also readily occur at lower pH. The adsorption decreased with increasing pH due to decreased H2PO4-/HPO42- molar ratio in solution and positive charges on the edge faces of LIG. Anion exchange is a fast reaction and can be completed within minutes; on the contrary, surface complexation is a slow process and requires days to reach equilibrium. At lower pH, the amount of adsorbed phosphate decreased significantly as the ionic strength was increased from 0.01 to 0.1 M. The adsorption at higher pH showed high selectivity toward divalent HPO42- ions with an increase in ionic strength having no considerable effect on the phosphate adsorption. These results suggest that LIG may be an effective scavenger for removal of phosphate from water. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.