Ammonia Removal From Wastewater By the Natural Zeolite, Clinoptilolite: A Laboratory Test and Experimental Study

Ammonia pollutions in petrochemical and petroleum industries are dangerous, leading to many problems for the environment, since ammonia is remarkably detrimental to the life of all terrestrial and aquatic species, even at low levels# the following research aims to study the removal of ammonium ions from wastewater by using zeolite adsorbent# in the current adsorption-ion exchange method, clinoptilolite (a natural type of zeolite) is used as an adsorbent in adsorption process# the impacts of various operating parameters including initial ammonium concentration (400-1000 ppm), reaction time (0-100 min), zeolite size (1-3 mm and 3-10 mm), amount of adsorbent (10-25 gr) and mixing speed (100-400 rpm) on the uptake of ammonium by the natural zeolite have been investigated in batchwise experiments# moreover, an adsorption isotherm, which is a relation curve between adsorption equilibrium capacity and equilibrium concentration, is illustrated to achieve a proper understanding of upcoming adsorption process, and the result was a maximum adsorption capacity at 33#2 mg nh4+ / g clinoptilolite in feed ammonia concentration of 1000 mg/l when 1-3 mm zeolite size was under experiment#