Author
Listed:
- Thaaer Hameed Abed
(Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1–7 Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania)
- Daniela Simina Stefan
(Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1–7 Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania)
- Daniela Cristina Berger
(Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnologies, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1–7 Polizu Street, 011061 Bucharest, Romania)
- Nicolaie Cicerone Marinescu
(Faculty of Sciences, Physical Education and Informatics, Pitesti University Center, National University of Science and Technology POLITEHNICA Bucharest, 1. Targul din Vale Street, 210002 Pitesti, Romania)
- Mircea Stefan
(Pharmacy Faculty, Titu Maiorescu University, No. 22 Dâmbovnicului Street, District 4, 040441 Bucharest, Romania)
Abstract
Ammonium ion is a chemical species that is found in abundance in natural waters, whether underground or surface, but also in wastewater resulting from agricultural and industrial activities. Even if the removal of the ammonium ion from water has been studied for a very long time, it has been found that its removal is far from being solved. In this study, we evaluated the performance of the ammonium ion adsorption process on two adsorbents, zeolite clinoptilolite, ZR, a sustainable material (manufacturer: Zeolite Development SRL, Rupea, Brasov, Romania), and the other granular activated carbon type, Norit GAC 830 W. Zeolite ZR is found in very large deposits in Romania; it is a natural, cheap material with costs between 50 and 100 EUR/ton, compared to other adsorbents that cost over 500 EUR/ton and which can be regenerated and reused in the technological process of water treatment and purification, but also after exhaustion, as an amendment for the soil. In the first step, this paper presents the mineralogic (XRD) and structural (SEM and EDX) characterization of the ZR and the determination of the pH zero-point charge, pH ZPC , for all the adsorbents. Studies were carried out in equilibrium and kinetic conditions. The efficiency of the adsorbent was investigated in different experimental conditions by varying the initial concentration, particle size, temperature, pH, ionic strength, and contact time. The mathematical models and parameters specific to the adsorption isotherms that best describe the experimental results were identified. Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich mathematical models were used for comparison. The Langmuir isotherm proved to be the most appropriate to describe the adsorption of ammonium ions on all types of adsorbents used. The adsorption capacity of ammonium ions from synthetic solutions at 20 °C, pH = 6.09, for the range of initial concentrations 0–50 mg/L for Rupea zeolite is in the range of 10.46 mg/g−12.34 mg/g, and for granular activated carbon GAC W830, it is 16.64 mg/g. It was found that the adsorption capacity of the ammonium ion on both activated carbon and zeolite increases with increasing temperature and pH. Also, it was observed that as the ionic strength increases, the adsorption capacity decreases for all four adsorbents. Kinetic models were also identified that best describe the experimental processes. In this sense, pseudo-first order, pseudo-second order, intra-particle diffusion and the Elovich model were used. The results of the investigation showed that second-order kinetics governs the adsorption process on ZR, and pseudo-first order governs activated carbon.
Suggested Citation
Thaaer Hameed Abed & Daniela Simina Stefan & Daniela Cristina Berger & Nicolaie Cicerone Marinescu & Mircea Stefan, 2024.
"Performance Evaluation of a Romanian Zeolite: A Sustainable Material for Removing Ammonium Ions from Water,"
Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
Handle:
RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:18:p:7888-:d:1474933
Download full text from publisher
References listed on IDEAS
- Chen Liu & Yunnen Chen & Caiqing He & Ruoyu Yin & Jun Liu & Tingsheng Qiu, 2019.
"Ultrasound-Enhanced Catalytic Ozonation Oxidation of Ammonia in Aqueous Solution,"
IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-15, June.
- Alina Marilena Dura & Daniela Simina Stefan & Florentina Laura Chiriac & Roxana Trusca & Adrian Ionut Nicoara & Mircea Stefan, 2023.
"Clinoptilolite—A Sustainable Material for the Removal of Bisphenol A from Water,"
Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-15, September.
Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
Most related items
These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
Corrections
All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:18:p:7888-:d:1474933. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through
the various RePEc services.