Efficiency of industrial wastewater treatment using natural bentonite sorbents

Abstract

The article is devoted to the current problem of the industrial town Tekeli of the Zhetysu Region, the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the area of operation the Tekeli mining and processing complex, based on TMPC LLP, where widespread pollution of water resources is observed. The main pollutant of its water basin is industrial waste of the operating enterprise located on the sites of the mining and processing complex. The water of the Karatal River is under intense pressure from the toxic components of the mining industry, which is located in the zone of the densest river network. This co-arrangement contributes to the fact that substances with gaseous, liquid and solid waste inevitably enter the river network. As a result, the nature of the deterioration in surface water quality in the Zhetysu region is becoming a steady trend. Of significant interest for the development of sorption methods for the purification of industrial effluents is the use of aluminosilicates - bentonites, as the most common and cheap. However, in a natural state without activation, they often do not have a high sorption capacity, which entails an increased consumption of them. It became necessary to obtain activated sorbents with a higher sorption capacity from natural mineral raw materials of aluminosilicates. The purpose of this work is to develop an innovative technology for cleaning industrial effluents from heavy metals using a natural sorbent – bentonite. The authors in the study used bentonite as a sorbent, as the most common and cheapest sorbent in this region. However, in their natural state without activation they often do not have a high sorption capacity, which causes increased consumption. There was a need to obtain activated sorbents with a higher sorption capacity from the natural mineral raw material bentonite for development technologies of advanced treatment of industrial effluents containing heavy metals (Zn²⁺, Pb²⁺, Cu²⁺).