Zeolites were synthesized from alternative cheap raw material as clay minerals which used as a common source for Al2O3 and SiO2 for synthesis zeolite-Y. Synthetic zeolite-Y has many characteristics, high purity and larger cavities that distinguish it from its counterparts. This study concerned with evaluation of the viability of producing low-silica zeolite through the process of hydrothermal calcination (metakaolinization) of raw material (kaolin) from Wadi Hagul, Egypt at 800 o C for 6 h. Metakaolinite was synthesized under hydrothermal treatment with 1.0 M NaOH solution without additional any catalysts as silica source at 90 o C/2d under atmospheric pressure. Zeolite Na-Y of molar ratio of 2.23 was achieved. The Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC) test showed an impressive value of 401.09 meq/ 100 g clay for prepared zeolite-Y. The raw kaolin, metakaolin and zeolite were characterized by XRF, XRD and SEM. The results confirmed that Zeolite was successfully produced from the raw material extracted from Wadi Hagul with an ideal percentage which approximately equal to 100% of the raw material used. The synthetic zeolite-y can be applied for remediation of wastewater and polluted soil.

No abstract

Zeolite Na-Y was prepared from kaolin located in Wadi-Hagul, Suez, Egypt. The synthetic zeolite prepared by the hydrothermal reaction of kaolin was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cation exchange capacity (CEC). Cadmium ion removal was investigated using the synthetic solution of Cd2+ ions with different concentrations at room temperature (25 °C ± 0.2), initial pH of the solution and contact times. The optimum contact time for removal of Cd2+ ion was 10 min, with 0.1g of synthetic zeolite and pH 7.57. The experimental data were correlated using Langmuir, Freundlich and Harkins-Jura adsorption isotherms. The maximum adsorption capacity Qm obtained from the Langmuir isotherm was 14.006 mg/g for Cd2+ ion. Kinetic studies reveal that synthetic zeolite is more effective as adsorbent for removing cadmium ions