Retention of liquid aromatic contaminants by means of hydrotalcite s, derived mixed oxides and reconstructed hydrotalcite s

Anionic clays or hydrotalcite s are multifunctional materials that can improve processes such as adsorption of contaminants. Among these, aromatic organic com-pounds represent an environmental problem, since they are dispersed in wastewater usually generated by the petrochemical industry. This work presents the synthesis of hydrotalcite s and mixed oxides derived from hydrotalcite s, used in the adsorption of organic pollutants of the BTEX-phenol present in aqueous media. The results were compared with those of the reconstructed hydrotalcite s in presence of BTEX-phenol. It was found that the adsorptive properties depend on the chemical composition and the structural properties of the materials. Although the initial hydrotalcite s and the derived mixed oxides were efficient adsorbents, the regenerated hydrotalcite s were much more active. The elemental compositions of the hydrotalcite s were obtained with a Jeol JSM-661LV scanning electron microscope coupled to an X-ray energy dispersive detector. The X-ray diffraction patterns of the samples were obtained on a Brucker D8 discover diffractometer. (author)