SYNTHESIS OF NaX/Fe3O4 COMPOSITE AND EVALUATION OF ITS NITRATE REMOVAL

Abstract

This study presented a simple, time and energy saving process to syn- thesize NaX/Fe₃O₄ composite, with a mass ratio of zeolite NaX:Fe₃O₄ = 1.5:1 (w/w), mixing time of 2 h, at room temperature and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOs) as a cohesion of 1 % v/v. In this work, the analysis methods such as XRD, TEM, and FTIR used reported the sphere shape and uniform sizes of the composite. Besides, all of the functional groups of composites such as -OH, Al-O-Si, T-O-T, and Fe-O could be seen in the final product. The saturation magnetization of NaX/Fe₃O₄ composite is 2.135 emu/g, which is determined by VSM. The specific surface area and pore diameter are 322.449 m²/g and 32.4 Å, respectively. The removal ability of NaX/Fe₃O₄ composite onto NO₃^- anion was performed at pH 6, an anion concentration of 20 mg/L, adsorbent dose of 0.02 g within 40 min. The adsorption capacity and adsorption yield of the composite are 36.28 mg/g and 72.55%, respectively. The adsorption of this work was fitted to Langmuir isotherm model, and physical adsorption. The adsorption experiments proved that NaX/Fe₃O₄ composite is a potential adsorbent for removing NO₃^- anion in wastewater.