Ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates sorption from simulated reclaimed waters by modified clinoptilolite

This paper presents the investigation of the ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates sorption from simulated reclaimed wastewater by modified clinoptilolite. The results showed that the modified clinoptilolite has a high sorption efficiency and removal performance. The ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates removal rate of the modified clinoptilolite reached to 98.46% and 99.80%, respectively. The surface of modified clinoptilolite became loose and some pores appeared, which enlarged the specific surface area; the contents of Na and Fe increased, and the contents of Ca and Mg decreased. The modified clinoptilolite possesses rapid sorption and slow balance characteristics and ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates sorption is more consistent with the Langmuir isotherm model. The adsorption kinetics of ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates follows the Elovich adsorption dynamics equation, which describes the sorption of ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates in aqueous solution as mainly a chemical sorption. Results from the thermodynamics experiment involving ammonia-nitrogen and phosphates sorption reveal that the process is a spontaneous and endothermic process, and is mainly driven by entropy effect.