This work highlights how the treatment of ZSM-5 (parent Zeolite Socony Mobil–5, Si/Al = 23) with different surfactant templates and alkaline solution, improved the catalytic performance in the Friedel-Crafts acylation of anisole with a propionic anhydride to obtain p-methoxypropiophenone. The modified microporous to mesoporous zeolite catalysts were characterized using different analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), nitrogen porosimetry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), temperature-programmed desorption (ammonia-TPD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) to analyze the crystallographic structure, surface acidity, surface area, porosity, morphology, and particle size. The results showed that the formed mesoporous zeolite by NaOH solution had smaller mesopores (ca. 3.7 nm) as compared to the mesoporous zeolites obtained by surfactant templates, such as, CTAB (ca. 14.9 nm), TPAOH (ca. 11.1 nm) and mixture of CTAB/TPAOH (ca. 15.2 nm). The catalytic acylation reaction was conducted in a batch glass reactor at various temperatures and the products were analyzed using off-line gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was found that the activity of treated ZSM-5 with mixed surfactant templates (CTAB/TPAOH) exhibited enhanced selectivity towards the main product (p-methoxypropiophenone) by a factor 1.7 or higher than unmodified ZSM-5 due to its increased surface area by 1.5 times and enhanced acid sites.

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The adsorption of lead (Pb II) ion on different types of synthesized zeolite was investigated. The BET surface area, total pore volume & average pore size distribution of these synthesized zeolites were determined by adsorption isotherms for N2, the surface area & total pore volume of their sources were found by adsorption isothermN2.The adsorption equilibrium was measured after 24h at room temperature ( The atomic absorption spectrometry was used for analysis of lead heavy metal ion, the obtained results in this study showed that the different synthesized zeolites were efficient ion exchanges for removing heavy metal, in particular, the modified zeolite from shale clay by oxalic acid.

Adsorption characteristics and catalytic photodegradation of carbendazim (methyl benzimidazol-2-ylcarbamate) have been investigated in Kurdistan natural soil and different natural waters (drinking, river, lake and ground water). Physico-chemical properties of the natural soil and water were determined. The equilibrium adsorption of carbendazim onto studied soil samples described by Freundlich adsorption model. The catalytic photodegradation processes were studied in aqueous Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) suspensions under UV radiation. The kinetic study was done by monitoring the concentration during the degradation process, using High performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), coupled with UV-visible spectrophotometer. It was found that the photocatalytic degradation process in this work exhibited pseudo first-order kinetics. The rates of catalytic photodegradation of carbendazim in natural water were lower than that in distilled water.

Mordenite, NaY and NaX zeolites were hydrothermally synthesized from locally available low-cost materials such as, chert rock, barley husk, and shale clay without using organic templates, structure-directing agent, and additives. The as-synthesized zeolites were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Field Emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The results verified that mordenite, NaY and NaX zeolites obtained from hydrothermal condition, present a good zeolitic properties and then can be suitable for using in adsorption, ion exchange and catalysis experiments. The properties of zeolite materials formed are strongly depended upon the composition and the type of raw materials used.