Aflatoxin B1 adsorption by the natural aluminosilicates - concentrate of montmorillonite and zeolite

Aflatoxin B1 adsorption by the concentrate of bentonite clay - montmorillonite and the natural zeolite - clinoptilolite and was investigated at the initial toxin concentration 4 ppm, with different amonunts of solid phase in suspension (10, 5, 2 and 1 mg/10 mL) and different pH values - 3, 7 and 9. Results indicated that for both minerals, decreasing the amount of solid phase in suspension, decrease the amount of active sites relevant for adsorption of aflatoxin B1. Thus, for concentrate of montnorillonite, at the lowest level of solid phase in suspension (1 mg/10 mL), aflatoxin B1 adsorption indexes were 97% at pH 3, 88% at pH 7 and 82% at pH 9, while for the natural zeolite, adsorption of toxin was 9% at pH 3 and 7% at pH 7 and 9. Since inorganic cations in minerals are mainly responsible for aflatoxin B1 adsorption, even the natural zeolite - clinoptilite has much higher cation exchange capacity (the content of inorganic exchangeable cations) compared to the concentrate of montmorillonite, adsorption of aflatoxin B1 by this mineral is much lower. Comparing the molecular dimensions of aflatoxin B1 molecule with the dimension of channels of clinoptilolite and interlamellar space of montmorillonite it is obvious that this toxin is adsorbed only at the external surface of clinoptilolite while in the montmorillonite all active sites are equally available for its adsorption. Thus, the concentrate of montmorillonite posess by higher adsorption capacity for aflatoxin B1. Results presented in this paper confirmed the fact the differences in the structure of minerals led to their different efficiency for adsorption of aflatoxin B1. Mineralogical and chemical composition, determination of cation exchange capacity, etc., are very important parameters influencing the effectiveness of minerals as aflatoxin B1 adsorbents. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 451-03-2802-IP Tip1/142, br. 172018 i br. 34013] This article has been corrected. Link to the correction <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2298/HEMIND170208003E">10.2298/HEMIND170208003E</a>

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Top-Down Synthesis of NaP Zeolite from Natural Zeolite for the Higher Removal Efficiency of Cs, Sr, and Ni

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min11030252 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 252

Author(s):

Seokju Hong ◽

Wooyong Um

Keyword(s):

Cation Exchange ◽

Removal Efficiency ◽

Natural Zeolite ◽

Cation Exchange Capacity ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Exchange Capacity ◽

Order Kinetic ◽

Top Down ◽

Kinetic Experiment ◽

Bet Analysis

A solid phase of natural zeolite was transformed to Na-zeolite P (NaP zeolite) by a “top-down approach” hydrothermal reaction using 3 M of NaOH solution in a 96 °C oven. Time-dependent X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR), XRF, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis as well as kinetic, isotherm, and cation exchange capacity experiments were performed to understand the mechanism of mineral transition from natural zeolite to NaP zeolite. The XRD crystal peaks of the natural zeolite decreased (decrystallization phase) first, and then the NaP zeolite XRD crystal peaks increased gradually (recrystallization phase). From the XRF results, the dissolution rate of Si was slow in the recrystallization phase, while it was rapid in the decrystallization phase. The specific surface area measured by BET analysis was higher in NaP zeolite (95.95 m2/g) compared to that of natural zeolite (31.35 m2/g). Furthermore, pore structure analysis confirmed that NaP zeolites have more micropores than natural zeolite. In the kinetic experiment, the results showed that the natural zeolite and NaP zeolite were well matched with a pseudo-second-order kinetic model, and reached equilibrium within 24 h. The isotherm experiment results confirmed that both zeolites were well matched with the Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum removal capacity (Qmax) values of Sr and Ni were highly increased in NaP zeolite. In addition, the cation exchange capacity (CEC) experiment showed that NaP zeolite has an enhanced CEC of 310.89 cmol/kg compared to natural zeolite (CEC = 119.19 cmol/kg). In the actual batch sorption test, NaP zeolite (35.3 mg/g) still showed high Cs removal efficiency though it was slightly lower than the natural zeolite (39.0 mg/g). However, in case of Sr and Ni, NaP zeolite (27.9 and 27.8 mg/g, respectively) showed a much higher removal efficiency than natural zeolite (4.9 and 5.5 mg/g for Sr and Ni, respectively). This suggests that NaP zeolite, synthesized by a top-down desilication method, is more practical to remove mixed radionuclides from a waste solution.

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