Use of natural chabazite–phillipsite tuff in wastewater treatment from electroplating factories in Jordan

Chabazite-phillipsite tuff from Tell Rimah volcano was evaluated in industrial wastewater treatment. Samples of two different size fractions have suitable zeolite content and cation exchange capacity, and are characterized by good attrition resistance and high packed bed density. Such properties enable these fractions to be used as ion exchangers under column operation condition. In the presence of high concentration of competing ions, such as Na⁺, Ca⁺² and K⁺, and under conditions of high total ionic concentration of toxic metals, the chabazite-phillipsite tuff exhibits successful performance in removing Cu⁺², Cr⁺³, Ni⁺², Zn⁺² and Fe⁺² from electroplating effluents. The factors that influence selectivity and efficiency of the zeolitic tuff were evaluated. The experimental work indicates that both selectivity and efficiency of the zeolite shows similar trends. The selectivity sequence exhibited by the zeolitic tuff is Ni⁺²>>Zn⁺² and Cr⁺³>Cu⁺²>>Fe⁺².