Supplementary research of clinoptilolite-rich tuff composites after adsorption trials using the XPS technique

The paper deals with fabrication of carbonized and hydrophobized cliniptilolite-rich tuff using organic carbon rich substances, here particularly starch and waste vegetable residues, which were pyrolytically combusted and covered the external zeolite surface. Hydrophobization of the zeolite external surface was accomplished by octadecylammonium surfactant. Both surface modified clinoptilolite-rich tuffs were tested and compared with each other with regard to removal of organic (phenol) and inorganic (chromate, arsenate) pollutants from aqueous solutions. These elaborated composites with surface adsorbed pollutant species were analysed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). (C) Central Europena Science Journals Warsaw and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. All rights reserved.