Cited by 171Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removalZeolite Catalysis and SynthesisEnvironmental remediation with nanomaterials

Modification of natural zeolites and their applications for heavy metal removal from polluted environments: Challenges, recent advances, and perspectives

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Senila, Marin, Cadar, Oana·2024·Heliyon

Abstract

In recent decades, environmental pollution has become a significant problem for human health and environmental impact. The high accumulation of heavy metals in waters and soils from different sources was conducted by finding efficient and environmentally friendly treatment methods and materials for their removal. Natural zeolites have found wide-ranging applications in environmental remediation and protection, considering various treatment and modification methods designed to enhance the natural zeolites' adsorptive or ion-exchange capabilities for increased efficiency. This paper briefly consolidates the recent scientific literature related to the main characteristics of natural and modified zeolites, the advantages and limitations of their environmental remediation application, and summarizes the methodologies applied to natural zeolites in order to improve their properties. Their application for removing heavy metals from water systems and soils is also comprehensively discussed. This review highlights the excellent potential of natural zeolites to be used after specific treatment or modification as a sustainable and green material to solve numerous environmental pollution issues.

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  • The presence of mineral impurities in natural zeolites can reduce their effective surface area and cation exchange capacity, while their performance is also highly dependent on solution pH, which affects both surface charge and metal speciation.

    “Furthermore, the presence of mineral impurities in natural zeolites can reduce their effective surface area and cation exchange capacity, while their performance is also highly dependent on solution pH, which affects both surface charge and metal speciation.219,220”

    From Emerging nanotechnology approaches for sustainable water treatment and heavy metals removal: a comprehensive review (2025) · cites this paper as [219]

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  • The aluminosilicate framework of zeolites is susceptible to dealumination under acidic conditions, leading to crystalline collapse, loss of porosity, and permanent reduction in adsorption capacity.

    “However, structural stability remains a limitation; the aluminosilicate framework is susceptible to dealumination under acidic conditions, leading to crystalline collapse, loss of porosity, and permanent reduction in adsorption capacity.219”

    From Emerging nanotechnology approaches for sustainable water treatment and heavy metals removal: a comprehensive review (2025) · cites this paper as [219]

    The section on methodologies for improving natural zeolites (page unavailable) says acid can extract Al from the framework and that excess treatment reagent can disturb crystallinity and decrease adsorption capacity. The acid-treatment section says low-Si zeolites are unstable in acid. Neither section establishes that acid-induced dealumination leads to crystalline collapse, loss of porosity, or a permanent reduction in adsorption capacity; the paper generally reports increased porosity after acid treatment. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [133]Álvarez A.M. Guerrón D.B. Calderón C.M. Natural zeolite as a chromium VI removal agent in tannery effluents Heliyon 7 2021 e07974 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07974 PMC8449171 34568598 · DOI · Paper page
  2. [149]Inglezakis V.J. Kudarova A. Guney A. Kinayat N. Tauanov Z. Efficient mercury removal from water by using modified natural zeolites and comparison to commercial adsorbents Sustain. Chem. Pharm. 32 2023 101017 10.1016/j.scp.2023.101017 · DOI

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Authors
Senila, M., & Cadar, O.
Affiliations
Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation (RO)
Corresponding author
Cadar, Oana
Venue
Heliyon
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-02
Volume
10
Issue
3
Pages
e25303
ISSN
2405-8440 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4391519229
Cited by
161
References
147
Citations by year
2026: 73 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 28
FWCI
18.51
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Heliyon (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
Ministerul Cercetării, Inovării şi Digitalizării
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Adsorption and biosorption for pollutant removal
  • Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Inorganic Chemistry › Zeolite Catalysis and Synthesis
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Environmental remediation with nanomaterials
Keywords
natural zeolite, zeolite modification, heavy metal removal, environmental remediation, adsorption, ion exchange, water pollution, soil contamination, eco-friendly materials, sustainable remediation

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