Ion exchange of Pb2+, Ag+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ in natural clinoptilolite of some parameters

To evaluate the uptake of natural clinoptilolite and its exchanged forms toward lead, silver, nickel, cadmium and zinc and their ability to clean-up wastewater containing these cations, three clinoptilolite-rich tuffs were studied. their exchange properties and the effect of some competitive cations, P H, and particle size, on their operating capacity (OEC) was investigated. The presence of competitive cations in the exchange solution always reduced the OEC values. The lowest OEC was observed when NH4+ was present as interfering cation, where as the effect of Li+ was negligible. It was concluded that the uptake of studied cations was higher in sodium and ammonium forms compared to the natural materials