Purification of metal electroplating waste waters using zeolites

The sorption behaviour of natural (clinoptilolite) and synthetic (NaP1) zeolites has been studied with respect to Cr(III), Ni(II), Zn(II), Cu(II) and Cd(II) in order to consider its application to purify metal finishing waste waters. The batch method has been employed using metal concentrations in solution ranged from 10 to 200 mg/l and solid/liquid ratios ranged from 2.5 to 10 g/l. The Langmuir model was found to describe well all sorption processes, allowing to establish metal sorption sequences from which the main retention mechanism involved for each metal has been inferred. Synthetic zeolite exhibited about 10 times greater sorption capacities (b(Cr)=0.838 mmol/g, b(Ni)=0.342 mmol/g, b(Zn)=0.499 mmol/g, b(Cu)=0.795 mmol/g, b(Cd)=0.452 mmol/g) than natural zeolite (b(Cr)=0.079 mmol/g, b(Ni)=0.034 mmol/g, b(Zn)=0.053 mmol/g, b(Cu)=0.093 mmol/g, b(Cd)=0.041 mmol/g), appearing, therefore, as most suitable to perform metal waste water purification processes. This mineral showed the same high sorption capacity values when used in the purification of metal electroplating waste waters.