Removal of natural organic matter (NOM) from an aqueous
solution by NaCl and surfactant-modified clinoptilolite
Mehdi Vosoughi Niri, Amir Hosein Mahvi, Mahmoud Alimohammadi,
Mohammad Shirmardi, Hafez Golastanifar, Mohamma Javad Mohammadi,
Abolfazl Naeimabadi and Maria Khishdost
ABSTRACT
Zeolitic tuffs are found in different parts of the world. Iranian zeolite is a low-cost material that can be
frequently found in nature. Surfactant-modified zeolite (SMZ) can be used for the adsorption of
natural organic matter (NOM) from aqueous solutions. The adsorption study was conducted to
evaluate the adsorption capacity of SMZ; furthermore, the effects of contact time, initial pH, and the
initial adsorbent dose on the adsorption process were investigated in a batch system. The kinetic
studies showed that the adsorption of NOM on SMZ was a gradual process. The optimum initial pH
values for the adsorption of NOM on SMZ were in the acidic ranges. The batch kinetic experiments
showed that the adsorption followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model with good correlation
coefficients. The equilibrium data were well described by the Langmuir isotherm model. The
results show that the natural zeolite being modified with NaCl and hexadecyltrimethylammonium
bromide as a cationic surfactant was an appropriate adsorbent for the removal of NOM.
Mehdi Vosoughi Niri
Mohammad Shirmardi
Mohamma Javad Mohammadi
Maria Khishdost
Department of Environmental Health Engineering,
School of Public Health,
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences,
Ahvaz, Iran
Mahmoud Alimohammadi
Department of Environmental Health Engineering,
School of Public Health,
Tehran University of Medical Sciences,
Tehran, Iran
Amir Hosein Mahvi (corresponding author)
National Institute of Health Research,
Tehran University of Medical Sciences,
Tehran, Iran
E-mail: mvn_20@yahoo.com
Hafez Golastanifar
National Exploration Directorate Oil Company,
NIOC, Iran
Abolfazl Naeimabadi
Department of Environmental Health,
School of Public Health,
North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences,
Bojnourd, Iran
Key words | adsorption isotherm, adsorption kinetics, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide,
natural organic matter, zeolite
INTRODUCTION
Natural organic matter (NOM) is considered a complex
matrix of organic compounds present in many water
resources, especially surface water (Wang et al. ;
Zazouli et al. ; Brigante et al. ). NOM causes a
wide variety of problems in drinking water treatment
operations. The presence of NOM in water may be carci-
nogenic as a result of reactions between NOM and
disinfectants. The presence of NOM in raw water sources
is unfavorable and has long been a problem for water
supply systems in industries. In particular, NOM affects
the quality of drinking water in several ways. For
example, color, taste, and odor are important esthetic
drinking water quality problems caused by such
compounds (Mahvi et al. ; Li et al. ; Ben-
Sasson et al. ). In addition, NOM can bind with syn-
thetic organic pollutants (such as pesticides) and heavy
metals and result in their transport through treatment
units and the distribution network (Anirudhan & Rama-
chandran ; Mahvi et al. ; Imyim &
Prapalimrungsi ). Also, as a consequence of the pres-
ence of high concentrations of NOM in raw water, the
chlorination of raw water can result in disinfection by-
products such as trihalomethanes during the chlorination
process (Anirudhan & Ramachandran ; Chiang et al.
). Therefore, the removal of NOM from drinking
water resources is very important.
394 © IWA Publishing 2015 Journal of Water and Health | 13.2 | 2015
doi: 10.2166/wh.2014.088