Abstract
In this study, the adsorption efficiency of Philippine natural zeolite for treating acid mine drainage is investigated. The metal ions considered were Cu2+, Ni2+, and Pb2+ ions. The natural zeolite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). The XRD result revealed that the natural zeolite is mainly composed of heulandite (Ca,Na)2-3Al3(Al,Si)2Si13O36 • 12H2O. Plate-like structures having rough surface and micro-pores were observed. The natural zeolite exhibited adsorption efficiencies of 99.03%, 35.88% and 35.36% for Pb2+, Cu2+, and Ni2+ ions, respectively, which are higher than those of alumina adsorbent for the same ions. Based on these results, the Philippine natural zeolite has a great potential for removing cationic heavy metal species from acid mine drainage (AMD).
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