COPPER REMOVAL FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTION OF CONTAMINATED SOIL USING NATURAL ZEOLITE

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Nuclear Materials Authority, P.O. Box 530 Maadi, Egypt

2 Soil Sci. Dept., Fac. Agric., Zagazig Univ., Egypt

Abstract

Natural zeolite is used as an inexpensive sorbent to remove copper from water. The factors that affect adsorption include contact time, temperature during adsorption, starting copper concentration, and S/L ratio. Zeolite from an acidic media has been studied to identify its equilibrium and kinetic properties. This investigation's goal was to assess the removal of copper using various solutions and the adsorption of copper from pre-contaminated soil. Metals were removed from the soil by washing with organic weak acids such as citric, maleic, succinic, tartaric, lactic, and oxalic. The surface layer (0–30 cm) of the soil was sampled in the field of Inchass, Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. 100 ppm copper citrate was present in the soils as a pre-contaminant. To test the copper's ability to leach effectively, mild organic acids were applied in concentrations ranging from 0.5% to 3.0%. Under ideal circumstances, it has been discovered that the realistic capacity of copper to adsorb onto zeolite can reach 32 mg/g, which corresponds to the 32 mg/g Langmuir isotherm. The nature of the copper adsorption by the natural zeolite has also been determined using physical characteristics, such as adsorption kinetics, isotherm models, and thermodynamic data. The Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-second-order reaction were both found to be in agreement with the functional natural zeolite.

Keywords

Main Subjects