Mining wastewater treatment using natural zeolite

Natural zeolites, especially clinoptilolite, have the ability of removing certain cations from wastewater through ion exchange and adsorption. In this study, clinoptilolite originated from Afrazandco Co, Semnan zeolite deposit was investigated in its natural form for its effectiveness in removing Zn2+ from aqueous solutions that recycled in KMP factory flotation line. The batchmethod was employed: parameters such as pH, contact time, and RPM were studied. Theinfluence of the pH of the metal ion solutions on the uptake levels of the metal ions by the different adsorbents used were carried out between pH 4 and pH 11. The optimum pH for zincremoval was 4.8. An equilibrium time of 2 hour was required for the adsorption of Zn(II) ions. Adsorption parameters were determined using both Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, but the experimental data were better fitted to the Langmuir equation than to Freundlich equation

Keywords:

clinoptilolite , zeolite , wastewater , mineral processing , Heavy metal