Optimization of iron load in a natural zeolite for heterogeneous catalysis

ANALÍA V.RUSSO; ANA LABOURT; PAULA G. BERCOFF ; SILVIA E. JACOBO

International Refereed Journal of Engineering and Science (IRJES)

IRJS

Año: 2015 vol. 4 p. 19 - 25

Abstract:- A comparative kinetic analysis between surfactant-modified and natural clinoptilolite nanoparticles for benzene removal is presented. The structure and morphology of clinoptilolite crystals with different previous treatments were determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The potential of iron sorption, in different metal concentrations, was evaluated by applying Langmuir and Freundlich equations. Experimental results show that Fe (II) loading is higher on clinoptilolite when the zeolite is previously treated with NH4Cl. A cationic surfactant, cetyl trimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was used to modify the surface of the zeolite loaded with iron. Catalytic and adsorption behavior, for an aqueous benzene solution removal was studied. The inclusion of surfactants in the zeolite structure increases benzene adsorption but reduces their catalytic capacity.