Organobentonites as adsorbents for some organic pollutants and its application in wastewater treatment

Two organobentonites were synthesized by placing quaternary ammonium cationscetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTMAB) and cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) on bentonite bycation exchange. Their ability to adsorb phenol, aniline. nitrobenzene and p-nitrophenol were examined.The optimal conditions for organobentonites to remove the organic pollutants from waterwere studied. The removal rates for organobentonites to treat the organic compounds in water werefound to be over 8 times for the original mineral (untreated bentonite).The removal rates of organic pollutants and COD of wastewater were further improved by organobentonites in the presence of aluminum sulfate. The structure of organobentonites and the mechanism for their adsorption were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, infrared spectra and BET surface area.