Romanian bentonite and fly ash characterization and their use in heavy metal “in-situ” immobilization in polluted soils

Abstract

This article presents the characterization of the Romanian bentonite and fly ash, using different techniques: FAAS, XRD, FT-IR, SEM and EDAX and their evaluation as sorbents for heavy metals immobilization in polluted soils coming from mining and metallurgical activities. The applicability of bentonite and fly ash for Pb (II) and Zn (II) immobilization was studied using aqueous solutions of these metals. The influence of the pH and contact time were studied. The results shown that the Romanian bentonite and fly ash could be used for Pb (II) and Zn (II) immobilization in polluted soils from brownfields.