Evaluating Zeolite and Organo-Zeolite Surface Treated with HDTMA-Br for the Removal of Oxyanion from Aqueous Solution

Hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMA-Br), a cationic surfactant, was added to the Jordanian zeolite in the current work, and this organo-zeolite was then utilized to eliminate the nitrate ion (oxyanion). Zeolite was used in batch trials at various parameters, and the Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Redlich-Peterson isotherms equilibrium models were examined at various temperature values of 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45°C. The experimental equilibrium results better fit the Freundlich, Dubinin-Radushkevich, and Redlich-Peterson models than the Langmuir model. Less than 8 kJ mol-1, or between 0.08 and 0.11 kJ mol-1, was the predicted energy using the Dubinin-Radushkevich model; this suggests a physisorption process. Adsorbents such as zeolite and organo-zeolite were employed in the kinetic tests conducted in a column reactor. To examine the data, kinetic models, an intraparticle diffusion of pseudo-second order, and Elovich were employed. The second-order model was used to determine the qmax values for both zeolite and organo-zeolite, which are (0.916-1.274) and (1.720-2.074), respectively. The values of qmax for organo-zeolite are greater than those for zeolite. For both the zeolite and the organo-zeolite, the estimated and experimental capacities at various temperature values agreed well, as indicated by the normalized standard deviation (%SSE). while using zeolite as the adsorbent, the intraparticle diffusion model deviated from linearity and displayed a single line; while using organo-zeolite, it displayed a single line. The zeolite and the organo-zeolite have computed activation energies (Ea) of 90.7 and 13.7 kJ/mol, respectively. The fact that the organo-zeolite has a lower activation energy than the zeolite indicates that it is a superior adsorbent, as indicated by the activation energy value.