MTBE adsorption on Surfactant-Modified Zeolites from aqueous solutions

Background & Objectives: This study evaluated the ability of natural clinoptilolite zeolite in form of Surfactant Modified Zeolites (SMZS) in removal of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) from water using batch tests. Direct comparison between none modified zeolite (NMZ) and Surfactant-Modified Zeolites (SMZ) was made for MTBE removal from water. Materials & Methods: The two Clinoptilolite samples used in this study were obtained from Semnan and Meyaneh province. Before the synthesis of the surfactant modified zeolites, the two kinds of zeolites were milled and sieved in to two sizes ranging 0.21-0.25mm (60 to 70Mesh) as fine and 0.59-0.84mm (20 to 30Mesh) as coarse. Total cation exchange capacity (CEC) and the external CEC (ECEC) of zeolites were measured and the best zeolite according to CEC & ECE for rest of the examinations was selected. Results: Results of this study showed that adsorption capacity of the zeolites will be remarkably improved toward MTBE molecules by modification of its surface by surfactants like Hexa Decyl Trimethyl Ammonium-Chloride (HDTMA-CL) & n-Cetyl Pyridinium Bromide (CPB). Especially the HDTMA had more effective performance and could receive to average adsorption capacity of 13.02 mg/g and average removal efficiency of 65.11 percent by the initial MTBE concentration of 10 mg/L. Conclusion: According to the results of this study SMZ are suitable candidate for removal of MTBE molecules from contaminated solutions.