Cu(II) removal from aqueous solution using Dogantepe (Amasya) zeolites

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of zeolite particle size, zeolite/solution ratio and stirring time on the performance of zeolites from Dogantepe in removing Cu(II) from aqueous solution to establish optimum operating conditions. The results indicated that the size of the zeolite samples, the concentration of Cu(II) and the zeolite/solution ratio affected the removal efficiencies, whilst the stirring time was found to have no significant effect on the removal efficiencies. The equivalent numbers of sodium, magnesium, calcium and potassium ions passed into the Cu(II) solution were found to be 1.196, 0.208, 0.117 and 0.009 meq/l, respectively, and the passing percentages of these ions were calculated to be 11.27, 2.45, 1.57 and 0.37%, respectively. The removal mechanism of Cu(II) with zeolite samples was mainly ion exchange with a fraction of approximately 65%. The maximum exchange capacities obtained by using Dogantepe zeolites, Yavu zeolites, and synthetic resin were found to be 9.2, 7.0 and 72.7 mg/g, respectively. However, in relatively low concentrations of Cu(II), the differences in the removal efficiencies or exchange capacities obtained for above different three materials were significantly decreased.