Characterization of Natural Zeolite and Study of Adsorption Properties of Heavy Metal Ions for Development of Zeolite Mine

The six natural zeolites collected in Pohang area, Kyungsangbuk-do, Korea, were characterized by XRD, XRF, DTA, TGA, and CEC analysis. The primary species of these zeolite are modenite, albite, and quarts in Kuryongpo-A (Ku-A), Kuryongpo-B (Ku-B), Kuryongpo-C (Ku-C), Donghae-A (Dh-A), Donghae-B (Dh-B), and Donghae-C (Dh-C) samples. The XRF analysis showed that the six zeolites contain Si, Al, Na, K, Mg, Ca, and Fe. Cation exchange capacity of Kuryongpo-C (Ku-C) zeolite was the highest compared to other zeolites. The capabilities of removing heavy metal ions such as , and were compared. The effect of reaction time in removing heavy metal ions was studied. The experimental results showed that the efficiency of removal was low for , and ions. These may be caused by the low content of zeolite in the six natural zeolites. This indicates that the adsorption capacity roughly tends to depend on the zeoite contents, ie., the grade of zeolite ore.