Synthesis of zeolites from Greek fly ash and assessment of their copper removal capacitySynthesis of zeolites from Greek fly ash and assessment of their copper removal capacity Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2021-05-112020enThe objective of this study was to synthesize zeolites through fusion of lignite fly ash and NaOH or KOH pellets at 600 °C and assess their removal efficiency in terms of decontamination of solutions containing Cu(II) ions. The removal efficiency of the produced zeolites was tested in batch kinetic experiments using different zeolites and Cu(II) ion concentrations. Experimental data revealed that zeolites synthesized with the use of NaOH exhibited higher removal efficiency compared with those synthesized with the use of KOH. Kinetic data showed that the pseudo-second-order equations described well the removal process. Copper removal was mainly accomplished through the concerted action of chemisorption and intraparticle diffusion. Analytical techniques involving XRF, XRD, FTIR, SEM/EDS and XPS were used for the characterization and morphology analysis of the produced zeolites. SEM/EDS confirmed the presence of copper on the zeolite surface. XPS spectra of Cu2p at 934.3 eV proved the presence of Cu(II) oxidation state, confirming the possible formation of CuO and/or Cu-Cl. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Minerals1010Vavouraki_et_al_Minerals_10(10)_2020.pdfChania [Greece]Library of TUC2021-05-10application/pdf4.6 MBfree Vavouraki Aikaterini Βαβουρακη Αικατερινη Bartzas Georgios Komnitsas Konstantinos Κομνιτσας Κωνσταντινος MDPI Fly ash Synthetic zeolites Copper removal Kinetics X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)