Nickel, lead and zinc removal by adsorption process in fluidised bed.

This work presents an experimental study of nickel (II), lead (II) and zinc (II) metallic ions removal by adsorption in zeolite Baylith WE984. The experiments were conducted in a fluidised-bed rig with 300 grams of zeolite particles having diameter in the range 1 - 4mm. The volumetric flow rate of the fluidizing solution was 4.1 lmin(-1). Metal concentrations in the solution were measured by atomic absorption and the breakthrough curves were obtained for concentrations of metals ranging from 5 to 30 ppm (pH= 2). Experimental results obtained were fitted to the Renken model for analysis of the mass transfer resistance and the kinetic of adsorption. It was verified that the kinetic of adsorption was the limiting factor for the metallic ion retention in fluidised bed. Competitiveness of the metals adsorbed into Baylith zeolite were also analyzed being found the following order of preference for the metal removals: nickel > zinc > lead. The competitiveness was evaluated simultaneously in the combination of 2 x 2 and the three metals.