The review emphasizes on synthesis, characterization, and application of zeolite. Zeolite is a hydrated aluminosilicate having a tetrahedral structural framework; it contains channels and cages which are occupied by exchangeable active metal ions and water molecules. Zeolite was synthesized through different synthesis methods, particularly, hydrothermal and green synthesis methods. The review also has tried to address the structure of zeolite such as morphology, functional group, and particle size using different characterization methods as reported via different authors. The characterization results verify that zeolite shows many unique properties such as uniform pore size, acidic properties, thermal stability, mobile extra cation, hydrophilicity, and hydrophobicity. These lead to a number of applications in catalysis, water purification, adsorption, and agriculture.

Abstract:The main objective of this study was to assess the metals level in Aloe Vera and in the soil where the Aloe Vera plant has grown in three sites, namely; Konso, Welaita and Arba Minch in southern region of Ethiopia using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The results of this study reveal that Aloe Vera plant has the ability to accumulate relatively higher amounts of K and Mn among the determined macro-and micro-elements, respectively. The mean levels of metal in Aloe Vera among three geographical areas in this study could be put in the following order: K (51.880 mg/Kg>> Ca (27.440 mg/Kg) > Mg (7.890 mg/Kg) > Na

This paper is focused on the comparative study of cactus powder, Alum, and their combination of physiochemical analyses of water sample such as TDS, pH, conductivity, salinity, and turbidity using jar test. The result indicated that percentage removal of turbidity from turbid water sample increased from 23.9% to 54% and 28.46% to 58.2% as dose increased from 0.50 to 3.50 g for both cactus powder and Alum, respectively. Cactus powder also has a marginal effect on pH value (7.33 at 0.50 g, 7.49 at 1.50 g, 7.57 at 2.50 g, and 7.57 at 3.50 g) as compared to the usage of chemical coagulants (Alum). The salinity was increased from 0.4% to 0.69 % and 0.39% to 0.98% as the dose of cactus powder and Alum increased from 0.50 g to 3.50 g, respectively. The result revealed that cactus powder is more effective in pH upholding, TDS maintenance, and salinity removal than Alum, but their combination is the most effective in terms of turbidity removal, reduction of salinity, reduction of conductivity, and reduction of TDS and has a marginal effect on dissolved oxygen (DO) value. In conclusion, the combination of Alum and cactus powder is more effective for turbidity removal, salinity removal, and pH and conductivity upholding than either of them used individually.

Water that contains high amounts of Mg and Ca metals is hard water. The presence of these metal ions in water prevents the water from lather formation with soap. This leads to the consumption of large amounts of soaps which cause loss of economy. In light of the problem, this study is conducted to investigate the capability of cactus powder to remove Mg and Ca metals from hard water using FAAS. The result revealed that the concentration of both Mg and Ca metals decreased as the dose of cactus powder increased. The concentration of Mg was 5.965 ppm in the absent of cactus powder, but it was 6.700 ppm at 0.5 g, 2.967 ppm at 1.5 g, 1.833 ppm at 2.5 g, 2.200 ppm at 3.5 g and 1.900 ppm at 4.5 g of cactus powder. In parallel way, the concentration of Ca was 4.967 ppm in the absent of cactus powder, but it decreased as 3.067 ppm at 0.5 g, 1.667 ppm at 1.5 g, 0.933 ppm at 2.5 g, 0.967 ppm at 3.5 g and 1.033 ppm at 4.5 g with cactus powder. The percentage removal of both Mg and Ca metals from hard water increased as the dose of cactus powder increased. The percentage removal efficiency of cactus powder increased from 0.00% to 68.2% for Mg metal, and from 0.00% to 79.2% for Ca metal as the dose of cactus powder increased from 0.0 g to 4.5g, respectively. The percentage removal of Ca metal increased with contact time as 27.89% at 1 hr, 38.69% at 2 hr, 53.27% at 3 hr, 71.11% at 4 hr and 71.53% at 5 hr. In the same way, the percentage removal of Mg metal increased with contact time as 16.00% at 1 hr, 32.84% at 2 hr, 48.00% at 3 hr, 61.00% at 4 hr and 57.00% at 5 hr. Thus, cactus powder has the capability to remove Ca and Mg metal ions from hard water due to the accessibility of its active sites.

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