Mechanism of the Adsorption of Ammonium Ions from Aqueous Solution by a Chinese Natural Zeolite

Abstract The adsorption of ammonium ions onto a Chinese natural zeolite in an agitated batch adsorber was studied. A trial‐and‐error non‐linear method was developed to examine two widely used isotherms, the Langmuir and Freundlich. The data gained from the adsorption system fitted the Freundlich isotherm better. An ion exchange model, describing the relationship among the total metal ions in the solution, NH4 + removed from the solution, and ions initially released from the zeolite, was developed for the adsorption system. In addition, a parameter of the ion exchange potential was defined to describe the adsorption mechanism. Ion exchange was the main mechanism that accounted for the adsorption of ammonium ions onto the Chinese natural zeolite. Keywords: Natural zeoliteadsorptionisothermion exchange Acknowledgements This study is a part of work of the Project, Technology of Non‐point Source Pollution Control in the Dianchi Watershed (Approval Number: K99‐05‐35‐02), financially supported by the Chinese Ministry of Science & Technology. The authors thank Dr. Wenqi Li, Dr. Jun Wang, Dr. Weizhong Wu, and Dr. Xi Zhang, who were involved in the project and helped a lot in the laboratory work.