Zeolite A synthesized from alkaline assisted pre-activated halloysite for efficient heavy metal removal in polluted river water and industrial wastewater

High quality zeolite A was synthesized through a hydrothermal process using alkaline-assisted pre-activated halloysite mineral as the alumina and silica source. The synthesis conditions employed in this study were finely tuned by varying the activating temperature, sodium hydroxide content, water content and Si/Al ratio. The obtained zeolite A showed excellent adsorption properties for both single metal cation solutions and mixed cation solutions when the concentrations of the mixed cations were comparable with those in polluted natural river water and industrial wastewater. High adsorptive capacities for Ag+ (123.05 mg/g) and Pb2+ (227.70 mg/g) were achieved using the synthesized zeolite A. This observation indicates that the zeolite A synthesized from alkaline-assisted pre-activated halloysite can be used as a low-cost and relatively effective adsorbent to purify heavy metal cation polluted natural river water and industrial wastewater. (C) 2016 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.