A comparison of the properties of natural clinoptilolites and their ion-exchange capacities for silver removal

The aim of the present study is to investigate the removal of silver ions from aqueous solutions using natural clinoptilolites collected from Çankırı-Çorum and Manisa-Gördes regions of Turkey. The optimum conditions for adsorption/ion exchange by using a batch method were evaluated by changing various parameters such as particle size, contact time, initial pH of the solution, adsorbent amount, initial metal concentration and acidic treatment. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin adsorption isotherm equations were derived form the basic empirical equations, and used for calculation of adsorption parameters. The equilibrium data fit well the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm. The adsorption capacities of Çankırı-Çorum and Manisa-Gördes clinoptilolites as obtained from Langmuir isotherm were found to be 31.44 and 22.57 mg/g. The adsorption kinetic rates and metal recoveries were estimated by pseudo-first order, second order and intra-particle models.