REMOVAL OF NITRATES, SULFATE AND Zn(II) IONS FROM AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS BY USING BIOPOLYMERIC ALGINATE/CLINOPTILOLITE RICH TUFF PELLETS

Removal of nitrates, sulfate and Zn(II) ions from aqueous solutions through adsorption on to biopolymeric alginate/ clinoptilolite rich tuff pellets was studied using equilibrium batch technique. The idea of this approach of biosorbent fabrication is to promote the native zeolite adsorption performance and thus to prepare more efficient amphoteric tailored product for specific environmental uses. Flexible component i.e. alginate biopolymer with a rigid component (pulverized) zeolite were crosslinked using Fe(III) and Ca(II) chlorides. The extent of adsorption was found to be a function of contact time, adsorbate concentration and adsorbent dose. The equilibrium adsorption data for above pollutants were fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms, respectively. Mossbauer spectroscopy was used for the ferric and ferrous iron ratio detection in the zeolite polletized with biopolymeric alginate samples and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Atomic Force Microscopy helped to visualize their surface texture and morphology.