Iranian Journal of

Backgrounds and Objectives:Phosphate discharges from domestic and industrial waste water to water bodies. High concentrations of phosphate in water stimulate the eutrophication phenomenon that causes taste and odor in water, losing dissolved oxygen and aquatic life in rivers or surface waters. Aim of this study is survey of phosphate adsorption on simple nano zeolite Y and nano zeolite Y that was modified with a cationic surfactant (HDTMA-Br).
Materials and Methods:In This study we used simple nano zeolite Y and nano zeolite Y in form of Surfactant Modified Zeolites (SMZs) using batch tests to adsorption of Phosphate fromAqueous Solutions. The adsorbants were contacted with different initial phosphor concentrations (5, 10 and 15 mg/l), pH (4, 7, 12), contact time (30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes) and weight of adsorbant (0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1g). the extracted solution was determined for Phosphate concentration by the ammonium molybdate and tin chloride method with spectrophotometric detection at 680 nm. Results:Results of this study show that, with increase in contact time, decrease in pH, increase in zeolites concentration and decrease in initial phosphate concentration, the removal efficiency increased. And the Both isotherm of Langmuir and Freundlich models (r2 > 0.997 and r2 > 0.996 respectively) were agreement with adsorption equilibrium of phosphate. Reduced Chi-Sqr For Langmuir and Freundlich models were (0.00079) and (0.0011) respectively. Pseudo first-order kinetic models fits well with experimental data (r2>0.963).
Conclusion: From this survey, it is concluded that performance of modified nano zeolite Y for adsorption of phosphate in same conditions is better than non-modified zeolite Y. In general the modified nano zeolite Y presented a good profile for removal of phosphate. Therefore SMZs is a suitable candidate for removal of Phosphate molecules from contaminated solutions in contaminated waters.

Background and Objective: Extreme use of antibiotics and discharging them to the environment lead to serious consequences. Activated carbon is the most commonly adsorbent for these contaminants but its main drawback is difficulty of its separation. The objective of this study was synthesis of magnetic activated carbon by Fe₃O₄ and investigating its efficiency in adsorption of amoxicillin from synthetic wastewater. Materials and Methods: Materials and Methods: Physical and structural characteristics of the adsorbent synthesized were analyzed using SEM, TEM, XRD and BET techniques. The effect of factors like pH, initial concentration of amoxicillin and adsorbent, contact time, and temperature were investigated to determine thermodynamic parameters, equilibrium isotherms, and kinetics of adsorption process. Results: Physical characteristics of the magnetized activated carbon showed that Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles had the average size of 30-80 nm and BET surface area was 571 m²/g. The optimum conditions of adsorption were: pH=5, contact time=90min, adsorbent dose of 1g/L and temperature 200C. The equilibrium isotherms data showed that the adsorption process fitted both Freundlich and Longmuir models with the maximum capacity of 136.98 mg/g. The kinetic of the adsorption process followed pseudo second-order model. The negative values of &DeltaH0 and &DeltaG0 obtained from studying the adsorption thermodynamic suggested that amoxicillin adsorption on magnetic activated carbon was exothermic and spontaneous. Conclusion: The present study showed that the magnetic activated carbon has high potential for adsorption of amoxicillin, in addition to features like simple and rapid separation. Therefore, it can be used for adsorption and separation of such pollutants from aqueous solutions.