RESUMO
The sorptive removal of copper ions from aqueous solutions using zeolite NaX has been studied by a batch technique. The influences of solute concentration, temperature and particle size on the sorption process were examined. Several kinetic models were used to test the experimental rate data and to examine the controlling mechanism of the sorption process. Lagergren pseudo-first order, the pseudo-second-order (Ho) and Ritchie second-order models were analyzed using nonlinear regression technique while Weber-Morris model was analyzed using linear least squares method. The obtained results indicated that synthetic zeolite NaX could be used as an efficient material for the sorption of copper ions. A kinetic study has shown that the best fit is achieved when the Ritchie model was applied and that sorption did not involve film or intraparticle diffusion, i.e., they were not the rate controlling steps. The activation energy was found to be 12kJ/mol in the present study.
