Experimental and Modeling Study of Ion Exchange Between Aqueous Solutions and the Zeolite Mineral Clinoptilolite

Abstract

Ion-exchange experiments were conducted at 25°C between the zeolite mineral clinoptilolite and aqueous solutions of Na⁺/Sr²⁺ (0.005, 0.05, and 0.5 N), K⁺/Sr²⁺ (0.05N), and K⁺/Ca²⁺ (0.05 N). The isotherm data were used to derive equilibrium constants and Gibbs energies for the ion-exchange reactions and Margules parameters for the zeolite solid solution. The Margules model, in combination with the Pitzer equations for activity coefficients of aqueous ions, was used to predict isotherms for ion exchange involving clinoptilolite and aqueous solutions of Na⁺/Sr²⁺, K⁺/Sr²⁺, and K⁺/Ca²⁺ over wide ranges of solution composition and concentration. The ion-exchange isotherms are strongly dependent on the total solution concentration. For Na⁺/Sr²⁺ ion exchange, isotherm values at 0.005 and 0.5 N predicted using thermodynamic parameters derived from the 0.05 N data showed excellent agreement with measured values. The model was also applied to calculations of aqueous composition based on the chemistry of coexisting zeolite phases. The results show that the aqueous composition can be predicted well from the composition of the zeolite, at least for systems that involved binary (two-cation) exchange. Because the thermodynamic model can be easily extended to ternary and more complicated mixtures, it may be useful for modeling ion-exchange equilibria in multicomponent systems.