Structural and surface properties of different natural aluminosilicates (layered, chain and framework structural types) exposed of 20 kHz ultrasound irradiation (0-120 min) in aqueous and 35 wt%. aqueous H2O2 dispersions were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), dynamic light scattering (DLS), nitrogen adsorption-desorption, thermal analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) techniques. It was confirmed that sonication caused slight changes in the structure of investigated minerals whereas their textural properties were significantly affected. The aqueous dispersions of montmorillonite (Mt), clinoptilolite (Zlt), glauconite (Glt) and palygorskite (Pal) were represented by several particles size fractions according to DLS-study. Ultrasound irradiation produced a decrease of the average particle diameter by 4-6 times in water and by 1.3-5 times in H2O2 dispersions except for Pal, which underwent strong agglomeration. A significant increase of total pore volume and pore diameter was observed for Glt sonicated in H2O2 dispersions whereas for Pal mainly micropore volume sharply increased in both aqueous and H2O2 dispersions.

The effect of acid and alkaline activation of complex natural aluminosilicate sorbent on its chemical composition, surface properties, and adsorption capacity towards ammonium ions was studied. An increase in specific surface area of the sorbent by 1.3 times after acid treatment and by 1.5 times after alkaline activation was shown. The change of ion-exchange complex of sorbent as a result of activation was observed. Sorption isotherms of ammonium ions on natural and activated samples were obtained and were satisfactorily described by the Langmuir equation. The evaluation and comparison of desorbed cations of alkali and alkaline earth metals were carried out. It was confirmed that ion-exchange processes primarily contributed to sorption of ammonium ions by natural and acid-activated silica-alumina, in contrast to alkali-activated one, for which absorption of nonexchangeable ammonium ions increased adsorption capacity of ammonium ions by 1.5 times.

Adsorption of Industrial Pollutants by Natural and Modified Aluminosilicates | InTechOpen, Published on: 2016-03-09. Authors: Liudmila Novikova and Larisa Belchinskaya

In order to enhance the efficiency of heavy metal ion extraction from aqueous medium, new nanocomposite magnetic sorbents were synthesized on the base of natural zeolite (Zt) and nanoparticles of ZnFe₂O₄ (F). The composition, structure and physical–chemical properties of new composites with 2% (Zt-2F), 8% (Zt-8F) and 16% (Zt-16F) of zinc ferrite were characterized by XRD, BET adsorption–desorption of nitrogen, SEM with elemental mapping, TEM and magnetometry. The sorption capacity of materials was assessed towards Cu²⁺ ions in aqueous solutions, for which kinetic and equilibrium features of sorption were established. The maximal sorption capacity (a_max, mg/g) of the studied materials increased in the order: Zt (19.4) < Zt-2F (27.3) < Zt-8F (30.2) < Zt-16F (32.8) < ZnFe₂O₄ (161.3). The kinetics of the sorption process followed a pseudo-second order kinetic model. The sorption equilibrium at zinc ferrite was successfully described by the Langmuir model, while the Freundlich model better fitted the sorption equilibrium on zeolite and composites. The efficiency of Cu²⁺ ion extraction from 320 mg/dm³ aqueous solution was 63% for composite Zt-16F and 100% for a sample of ZnFe₂O₄. It was established that the proposed composite sorbents provide the operation of several cycles without regeneration, they can be easily recycled with 0.1 N HCl solution and are capable of magnetic separation. The advantages of new composites and the proposed method of synthesis allow recommending these materials as effective sorbents of heavy metals from wastewater.

The state of the surface of natural clay minerals containing montmorillonite (lamellar structure), clinoptilolite (rigid skeleton structure), and palygorskite (lamellar-banded structure) and of the...