Preparation and characterization of a Mexican organo clinoptilolite-heulandite mineral and its evaluation for the sorption of cadmium and cobalt

The preparation and characterization of a Mexican organo clinoptilolite-heulandite mineral as well as the evaluation of its sorption properties for cadmium and cobalt are presented. The mineral was modified with different concentrations of hexadecyltrimethyl-ammonium bromide (HDTMA), the resulting materials were characterized by electron microscopy, IR spectroscopy, BET surface analysis, X-ray diffraction and their cation exchange capacities were determined. The cobalt and cadmium uptake was carried out in different concentrations. Neutron activation was used to measure the sorption of cobalt and cadmium. Organo zeolitic mineral samples were obtained with different surface characteristics compared with the original material and it was found that the retention of cobalt and cadmium by the organo zeolite diminishes due to the presence of HDTMA. (author)