抄録
In this study, several surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) adsorbents were prepared from a naturally occurring zeolite, clinoptilolite, using a surface modification technique by forming a bilayer of a cationic surfactant (CTAB) and metal ligand such as palmitic acid (PA) on the zeolite surface. These SMZ adsorbents were further evaluated for their adsorption characteristics for heavy metal and organic contaminants as a function of metal ligand to surfactant loading ratio. The results showed that the adsorption of cadmium by SMZ was strongly affected by PA/CTAB loading on the SMZ. The cadmium uptake increased with increasing PA/CTAB loading ratio in the range of 1:1 to 4:1. In contrast, the adsorption of toluene slightly decreased with increasing PA/CTAB loading on the SMZ. In the mixed-solute systems where cadmium and toluene were adsorbed simultaneously, higher adsorption was observed in the case of toluene but not in cadmium adsorption. The regeneration of the SMZ was also demonstrated and the regenerated SMZ was shown to be reusable for several adsorption cycles with an acceptable loss in the adsorption capacity.
