Gas-phase adsorption in dealuminated natural clinoptilolite and liquid-phase adsorption in commercial DAY zeolite and modified ammonium Y zeolite

The adsorption of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is a very important tool for the material characterization. On the other hand, in separation and recovery technology, the adsorption of the CO2 is important to reduce the concentration of this gas considered as one of the greenhouse gases. Natural zeolites, particularly clinoptilolite, are widely applied to eliminate some pollutants from the environment. One of the goals of this research is to study the structure, composition and morphology of one natural clinoptilolite dealuminated with ammonium hexafluorosilicate (AHFi) and with orthophosphoric acid (H3PO4). Each modified sample was characterized using X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Carbon Dioxide adsorption at 0° C, Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), and Scanning Electron Microscopy with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Analysis (SEM-EDAX). In addition, the surface chemistry of the modified clinoptilolites was analyzed with Diffuse Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (DRIFTS).;The adsorption measurements were also used to study of the interaction of CO2 molecule within the adsorption space of these modified clinoptilolites. It was concluded that one of the modified clinoptilolites, (CSW-HFSi-0.1M), showed a great quality as adsorbent and as catalytic comparable to commercial synthetic zeolites. As far as we know, the modification of clinoptilolite with HFSi to improve their adsorption properties had not been previously attempted.;In the second part of this dissertation, the dynamic adsorption of three isomers of nitrophenols using as adsorbent a commercial DAY zeolite was investigated. Also, the dynamic adsorption of methanol in a less hydrophobic zeolite, Ammonium Y Zeolite was investigated. The obtained breakthrough curves showed that the commercial DAY zeolite could be a suitable adsorbent to the liquid-phase adsorption of the phenolic compounds. Notwithstanding the modified ammonium Y zeolite had a low Si/Al ratio (less hydrophobic) than commercial DAY zeolite; this modified zeolite was useful for the dynamic adsorption of polar compound such as methanol. The obtained results were consistent with those reported in other studies related with the use of zeolites in the removal of organic compounds from the liquid phase.