An investigation into the use of synthetic zeolites for in situ land reclamation.
type: CreativeWork
description: This thesis describes an experimental study to determine the feasibility of using zeolite addition for the in situ treatment of soils contaminated with heavy metals. The aim of the present work was to examine the effectiveness of three synthetic zeolites to reduce plant available metal pools in contaminated soils. Three contaminated soils were studied, which are representative of typical contamination sites in the UK: Prescot, site of a copper refmery, Trelogan, an old lead/zinc mine spoil, and Gateacre, a sewage sludge treated field. The action of zeolites to reduce available metal concentrations in soils is due to their ion-exchange properties. To investigate the decrease of metal bioavailability by zeolites, laboratory and greenhouse trials were performed to clarify the mechanism of heavy metal fixation by synthetic zeolites and to quantify the effect of different zeolites for land remediation. For this approach, it was necessary to measure the metal concentration in the soil and the soil solution in zeolite-amended soils and to determine the zeolite specific isotherms of all the metals studied. Cation exchange studies involved exchanging the sodium form of the zeolites with different metals in solution, in order to determine the zeolite affinity for the metals copper, cadmium, zinc and lead. The resulting isotherms demonstrated that all three zeolites showed a preference for the heavy metal ions over sodium ions. The changes in metal speciation in zeolite-treated contaminated soils were evaluated using sequential extraction procedures. After incubation with synthetic zeolites, metals extracted with ammonium acetate were significantly decreased (31.4 % - 72.4 %) in amended soils compared to the controls. This decrease in heavy metal availability is extremely significant. The exchangeable metal fraction is the most available for uptake by plants. Long term soil solution experiments with zeolite-amended soils showed that the metal concentrations in the aqueous leac…
abstract: This thesis describes an experimental study to determine the feasibility of using zeolite addition for the in situ treatment of soils contaminated with heavy metals. The aim of the present work was to examine the effectiveness of three synthetic zeolites to reduce plant available metal pools in contaminated soils. Three contaminated soils were studied, which are representative of typical contamination sites in the UK: Prescot, site of a copper refmery, Trelogan, an old lead/zinc mine spoil, and Gateacre, a sewage sludge treated field. The action of zeolites to reduce available metal concentrations in soils is due to their ion-exchange properties. To investigate the decrease of metal bioavailability by zeolites, laboratory and greenhouse trials were performed to clarify the mechanism of heavy metal fixation by synthetic zeolites and to quantify the effect of different zeolites for land remediation. For this approach, it was necessary to measure the metal concentration in the soil and the soil solution in zeolite-amended soils and to determine the zeolite specific isotherms of all the metals studied. Cation exchange studies involved exchanging the sodium form of the zeolites with different metals in solution, in order to determine the zeolite affinity for the metals copper, cadmium, zinc and lead. The resulting isotherms demonstrated that all three zeolites showed a preference for the heavy metal ions over sodium ions. The changes in metal speciation in zeolite-treated contaminated soils were evaluated using sequential extraction procedures. After incubation with synthetic zeolites, metals extracted with ammonium acetate were significantly decreased (31.4 % - 72.4 %) in amended soils compared to the controls. This decrease in heavy metal availability is extremely significant. The exchangeable metal fraction is the most available for uptake by plants. Long term soil solution experiments with zeolite-amended soils showed that the metal concentrations in the aqueous leac…
author: Rebedea, I
keywords: HD Industries. Land use. Labor, QD Chemistry
date published: 1997-01
date modified: 2026-07-24T06:30:08Z
provider: Liverpool Jon Moores University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Liverpool John Moores University

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.24377/LJMU.t.00005562