Synthesis and characterization of LTA nanozeolite using barley husk silica: Mercury removal from standard and real solutions

[Display omitted] ► Silica extraction from barley husk with high purity for the synthesis of A nanozeolite. ► Free template A nanozeolite synthesized via new source of silica at low temperature. ► Optimization of SiO2/Al2O3, Na2O/SiO2 ratios, temperature and time of the synthesis. ► Utilizing of synthesized A nanozeolite for mercury removal from aqueous solutions. ► Mercury removal at optimized pH, contact time and adsorbent dose from real solution. In this study, synthesized Lined Type A (LTA) nanozeolite from barley husk silica (BHS) was used for mercury removal from standard and real aqueous solutions. The BHS in amorphous phase with 80% purity was extracted from barley husk ash (BHA), and used effectively as a new source of silica for the synthesis of NaA nanozeolite. The NaA nanocrystal in pure phase has been synthesized at low temperature, without adding any organic additives. The effects of heating time, reaction temperature, SiO2/Al2O3, and Na2O/SiO2 mole ratios on the crystallization of NaA nanozeolite were studied. The adsorption capacity of mercury (II) was studied as a function of pH, contact time, and amount of adsorbent. The crystallization of NaA nanozeolite from BHS was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET), and FTIR techniques. Moreover, concentration of Hg2+ ions in the aqueous solutions was analyzed by hydride generation atomic absorption spectroscopy method (HG-AAS). The standard and real samples analysis showed that NaA nanozeolite is capable of Hg2+ ions removal from the aqueous solutions. Efficiency of mercury (II) adsorption from real solutions onto the nano-sized NaA zeolite was 98%.