Comparison of adsorption efficiency of Triton X-100 surfactant from industrial wastewater using synthetic and natural zeolites: isotherm and kinetic studies

Rapid growing of Triton X-100 application in industries results in its appearance in effluents and threaten the aqueous ecosystems. Triton X-100 is not biodegradable and can accumulate in food chain. In this study, sorption capacity of six synthesized zeolites with different regular porous structure was studied for triton X-100 (TX-100) surfactant and the results were compared with Clinoptilolite natural zeolite of Damavand region. Within all zeolite studied, Beta(200) showed the highest sorption capacity (about 575 mg/g), which is due to its regular pore structure with large pore diameter, channel intersections, high SiO2/Al2O3 ratio and high surface area. Langmuir monolayer isotherm and pseudo-second-order kinetic equation could provide well-fitted to the experimental data in simulating adsorption behavior of TX-100 over Beta(200) zeolite. The adsorption feature was internal sorption and the intraparticle diffusion might be a rate-limiting control for Beta(200) zeolite. Results of experiments demonstrated that the hydrophobic zeolites with large pore diameter such as Beta(200) could be effective sorbents for industrial wastewater treatment features.