Adsorption of tungsten onto zeolite fly ash produced by hydrothermally treating fly ash in alkaline solution

Fly ash (FA) was hydrothermally treated in an alkaline solution to produce zeolite fly ash (Z-FA). The properties of the FA and Z-FA were investigated. The amounts of tungsten (W) adsorbed onto the FA and Z-FA surfaces were evaluated. Z-FA was produced by hydrothermally treating FA in an alkaline solution. The specific surface area and pore volume of the Z-FA were greater than those of the FA. More W was adsorbed onto the Z-FA surface than onto the FA surface. The adsorption isotherms for W were fitted using both the Freundlich and Langmuir equations. The equilibrium concentrations of W adsorbed onto the FA and Z-FA surfaces were subsequently reached within 20 h. The pseudo-second-order model more accurately described the data than did the pseudo-first-order model. Sodium hydroxide solutions (1-50 mmol/L) were used to easily recover W from Z-FA, indicating that Z-FA was useful for recovering W from aqueous solutions.