Simultaneous removal of low concentrations of ammonium and humic acid from simulated groundwater by vermiculite/palygorskite columns

Vermiculite and palygorskite are common clay minerals having large surface area and high cation exchange capacities. They have different affinities for ammonium (NH4+) and humic acid (HA), and hence were combined to remove NH4+ and HA simultaneously from simulated groundwater in column tests. Three...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied clay science 2013-12, Vol.86, p.119-124
Main Authors: Lv, Guocheng, Wang, Xiaoyu, Liao, Libing, Li, Zhaohui, He, Maoqian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonium
Cation exchanging
Clay minerals
Column test
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics
Exact sciences and technology
Groundwater
Humic acids
Hydrogeology
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Hydroxyapatite
Mineralogy
Palygorskite
Pollution, environment geology
Removal
Silicates
Simulation
Surface area
Vermiculite
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Summary:Vermiculite and palygorskite are common clay minerals having large surface area and high cation exchange capacities. They have different affinities for ammonium (NH4+) and humic acid (HA), and hence were combined to remove NH4+ and HA simultaneously from simulated groundwater in column tests. Three columns were assembled by filling the columns with the same amount of vermiculite and palygorskite but in different arrangements. The simulated groundwater containing NH4+ and HA was pumped to the columns in an upward direction. The concentrations of N-NH4+ and HA at different height of the columns were measured over time. No significant differences on HA removal among the three column settings were observed. However, the NH4+ removal efficiencies were significantly different among the three column settings. For the column filled with separate vermiculite and palygorskite layers, NH4+ was mainly adsorbed on the vermiculite layer. In contrast, when mixture of vermiculite and palygorskite was packed at the ratio of 1:1, NH4+ was mainly accumulated at the bottom of the column. •Combination of vermiculite with palygorskite tested for mixed contaminant removal.•Ammonium and humic acid simultaneously removed in different column settings.•Throughput could be as high as 250 pore volumes before exhausted.•Exceptional permeability of the combined sorbents may find extensive applications.
ISSN:0169-1317
1872-9053
DOI:10.1016/j.clay.2013.08.043