Reduction of rainwater turbidity using zeolite

Abstract

In this work, we showed that rainwater harvesting offers a potential solution for overcoming clean water emergencies. However, rainwater that has been held for more than two months will be hazy and mossy in appearance. Rainwater must, therefore, first be treated to make it clearer. Rainwater was treated using clinoptilolite-type zeolite. We used two sizes of zeolite particles: large (0.02 cm) and small (0.002 cm). The zeolite was activated in an oven at 225 °C for 3 hours. After 50 hours of immersion, it was found that large-sized zeolite could lower the turbidity of rainwater by up to 86.2% without increasing the TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) value. Small-sized zeolite might reduce the turbidity of rainwater by 8% for the same immersion time. These findings show that larger zeolites are more efficient at reducing rainwater turbidity. Large-sized zeolite does not require any further processing to be made smaller before use because it is readily available on the market. Furthermore, it showed that the zeolite-based rainwater treatment process employs the pseudo-second-order kinetic model.