Adsorption of aqueous Zn(II) species on synthetic zeolites

To supply a good quality drinkable water tends to become a strategic task in both developed and under development countries in the world due to the number of potential contamination sources. One of the major problems is derived from the presence of heavy toxic metals like zinc or lead resulting from industrial activities. Zeolites are known as very efficient mineral substrates for fixing aqueous ionic species through their wide range of channels present in the crystalline structure and due to their strong surface reactivity. MicroPIXE coupled with microRBS (3.05 MeV He-4(+) ions) have been used to quantify the incorporation of zinc within two commercial zeolites containing alkali elements (zeolite X and clinoptilolite) in the concentration range of: 0.0002-0.05 M at neutral pH. At the beginning of the interaction between zeolite and Zn(II) solution, the adsorption process exhibits a direct proportionality between the content of zinc fixed on the mineral substrate and the aqueous concentration up to 0.01 M. Beyond this point a saturation effect seems to occur, indicating the strong decrease of available adsorption sites. Sodium or potassium ions are probably exchanged with Zn(II) ions during this process. The compared behaviour of the two zeolites is then discussed in terms of kinetic effects based on ionic radius values. A co-adsorption test carried on with a 50-50% Zn(II) 0.001 M-Pb(II) 0.001 M solution shows that lead does not occupy the same sites as zinc because the content of zinc fixed on the zeolite sample exactly corresponds to the result obtained with a pure 0.001 M Zn(II) solution. All these data clearly showed that zeolite surface reactivity is greatly influenced by the mineral cage-like structure and particularly the presence of pockets, spaces and channels. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.