Stability of a natural palygorskite after a cycle of adsorption-desorption of an emerging pollutant

TL;DR

This study assesses the structural stability of natural Cuban palygorskite clay after cyclic adsorption-desorption of the pollutant sulfamethoxazole, demonstrating its potential for reuse in pollutant removal.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the durability and reusability of natural palygorskite clay for pollutant adsorption cycles.

Findings

Palygorskite maintains structural integrity after adsorption-desorption cycles.

The material shows potential for repeated use in pollutant removal.

Characterization confirms stability of clay structure post-cycles.

Abstract

In this paper, we evaluate the structural stability of a natural Cuban clay (an adsorbent of organic pollutants) after an adsorption-desorption process. The clay under study was palygorskite, and sulfamethoxazole was the emerging contaminant. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy and zeta potential before and after the sulfamethoxazole adsorption-desorption processes. Based on the material integrity, the potentiality of Pal as pollutant adsorbent and its possible reuse in adsorption-desorption cycles was demonstrated.