Mo and Ni Removal from Drinking Water Using Zeolitic Tuff from Jordan

Mo and Ni metals could be hazardous in natural waters. The initial Mo and Ni concentration in the sampled domestic drinking water of north Jordan is 550 and 110 g/L, respectively. The efficiency of using natural faujasite-phillipsite and phillipsite-chabazite tuffs in removing Mo and Ni from contaminated drinking water was tested. Batch experiments using different weights of the adsorbent were conducted at different contact times to determine the optimum conditions. The maximal uptake capacity of Mo from drinking water was equivalent to 440-420 g/g adsorbent. The maximum removal efficiency of Mo by faujasite-phillipsite, phillipsite-chabazite, and the modified surfactant phillipsite-chabazite tuffs were 80%, 76%, and 78%, respectively. The proportional relationship between contact time and removal efficiency of Ni from water samples was observed. The maximum removal efficiency of Ni by the zeolitic tuffs is up to 90% compared to the original groundwater sample.