Copper Adsorption and Si, Al, Ca, Mg, and Na Release from Clinoptilolite

Copper adsorption onto clinoptilolite (natural zeolite), Al/Si dissolution, and Mg, Ca, and Na release from the substrate were the subjects of the investigation described here. Experimental variables were Cu and electrolyte concentrations and solution pH. Copper adsorption was found to increase with increased pH and with decreased electrolyte concentration. Large amounts of K were also adsorbed from electrolyte. Since solution pH was assumed as a variable, the effects of [H+] differentiation on Cu adsorption and on Al/Si dissolution were also examined. Al dissolution was affected mainly by electrolyte concentration, whereas Si dissolution was affected mainly by adsorbed Cu amount. It was assumed that the release of Mg, Ca, and Na occurs through ion-exchange reactions with solution K+, because their release is affected more by electrolyte concentration than by adsorbed Cu. From the study of FTIR spectra for various samples used in the present investigation, we observed that the removal of framework Si/Al shifts the band which was attributed to O–T–O stretching vibration toward higher frequency. Significant changes were observed for the bands assigned to Si—OH—Al bridges and to monomeric and polymeric hydrogen bonds at the region between 3650 and 3200 cm−1. It is proposed that the Cu species caused the destruction of H-bonded structures, whereas K adsorbed species were located at exchangeable sites after an ion-exchange process between K and Ca, Mg, and Na from the zeolite's surface. An expansion of the zeolite framework was detected from XRD patterns under acid conditions.