title: Ion exchange uptake of ammonium in wastewater from a Sewage Treatment Plant by zeolitic materials from fly ash.
abstract: The potential value of zeolitic materials (ZM) obtained from a hazardous waste, such as coal fly ash, for the retention of NH(4)(+) present in liquid effluents from a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is studied. A wastewater sample was taken from an STP in Zaragoza (Spain) after conventional treatment at the Plant. The water was treated with different amounts of three ZM: NaP1 zeolite, K-F zeolite and K-Chabazite/K-Phillipsite zeolites all of them in powdered and granulated state. The wastewater was treated by two kinds of processes: continuous stirring batch experiments with powdered ZM, and fixed packed bed of granulated ZM in a column. The powdered materials reduced about 80% of NH(4)(+) from wastewater, even in the presence of Ca(2+), which competes with NH(4)(+) for the cation exchange sites in zeolites. Around 70% of NH(4)(+) reduction was achieved with granulated materials. In both cases, moderate ZM/wastewater ratios had to be used to achieve those results, with K-zeolites slightly less effective in NH(4)(+) retention.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Carboquímica (CSIC), Miguel Luesma 4, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain. rjuan@icb.csic.es
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Juan
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Andrés
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ruiz
mesh_terms: D000327:Adsorption; D002118:Calcium / Q000737:chemistry; D002244:Carbon; D002412:Cations; D060729:Coal Ash; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007474:Ion Exchange; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011208:Powders; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000379:methods; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods*; D017641:Zeolites / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D002412:Cations; D060729:Coal Ash; D052638:Particulate Matter; D011208:Powders; D000644:Quaternary Ammonium Compounds; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D017641:Zeolites; D002244:Carbon; D002118:Calcium