One of the factors that determine the humankind existence and development is the environment. Man as a biological system is a part of nature, however the cooperation between them is quite complex [1]. On the one hand, men need permanent protection against it’s negative impact, on the other hand, they are the source of these impacts themselves [1, 2].Thanks to their unique characteristics, natural zeolites (NZ) are widely applied for solution of different ecological problems as cheap and available sorbing agents and also as basics for catalytical materials that are used for aquatic and air medium purification [3, 4]. The most frequently applied NZ are clinoptilolites that are widespread on the territory of Russia [5, 6].
The problems associated with the testing of equipment for treating surface runoff contaminated with heavy metals are assessed. The specifics of the heavy metals present in it and the features of processing were considered. The article presents the design of the developed full-scale bench for testing filter cartridges (in particular, FOPS® filters), as well as the technique for modeling waste and natural waters contaminated with heavy metals on it. The study results reflecting the operational features of FOPS® filters were presented.