Abstract
In the petroleum industry during a catalytic cracking process, the used zeolitic catalyst becomes waste. This article investigated the sorption capacities of ammonium ions from aqueous solutions onto the previously mentioned zeolitic waste by batch experiments. Three types of zeolitic waste were used: unmodified zeolitic waste with two different particle size distributions and H2O2-modified zeolitic waste. Several techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) multilayer adsorption theory measurements, and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) were used to demonstrate experimentally that the zeolitic waste could be used as a sorbent for the water decontamination of NH4+ ions. The morphology of zeolitic waste investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed particles with a spherical shape. The nitrogen adsorption–desorption isotherms showed an isotherm mixture of types I (pure microporous) and IV (mesoporous). This suggested that the investigated zeolitic materials were mesoporous (4.84 nm) and microporous (0.852 nm), as well as containing slit/cylindric pores, according to a quench solid density functional theory (QSDFT) adsorption branch model. Zeolitic waste from the oil industry showed good NH4+ sorption properties (removal efficiency of 72%), thus becoming a potential adsorbent to be used in the treatment of contaminated aqueous effluents polluted with ammonium ions. Simultaneous waste and water decontamination can be achieved, providing a new tool and enhanced capabilities for environmental remediation.
Highlights
In the petroleum industry during a catalytic cracking process, the used zeolitic catalyst becomes waste
The experiment of ammonium removal was conducted by the batch experiments
These zeolitic materials were used as sorbents for ammonium removal
Summary
The modification of zeolitic waste by using hydrogen peroxide solution. Zeolites are often modified to improve their sorption capacity. The mineral composition of the three types of zeolitic waste was evaluated by using XRD analysis (Fig. 1). This analysis showed that in all materials, similar minerals prevail. After the modification of zeolitic waste with a hydrogen peroxide solution, the mineral composition of the zeolitic waste did not change, but the amount of carbon significantly decreased, and sulfur was not detected in this material (Table 1). The particle size of zeolitic byproduct powder is very useful for predicting the main characteristics of ammonium sorption. All three types of zeolitic waste powder had similar narrow particle size distributions. It is possible to predict the main characteristic of ammonium sorption
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