Magnetic zeolites: a new adsorbent for removal of metallic contaminants from water

In this work the adsorption features of NaY zeolite with the magnetic properties of iron oxides have been combined in a composite to produce a magnetic adsorbent. These magnetic composites can be used as an adsorbent for metallic contaminants in water and subsequently removed from the medium by a simple magnetic process. The zeolites:iron oxide magnetic composites, were prepared by using NaY with weight ratio of 3:1 and were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), magnetization measurements, chemical analyses, N2 adsorption isotherms and Mössbauer spectroscopy. Nitrogen adsorption isotherms showed that the surface area decreased from 505 m2 g−1 for the pure NaY to 353 m2 g−1 for the NaY:Fe oxide 3:1 composite. The adsorption isotherms of metal ions Cr3+, Cu2+ and Zn2+ from aqueous solution onto the composites also showed that the presence of iron oxide does not affect the adsorption capacity.