A calcined clay fixed bed adsorption studies for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solutions

Abstract A natural clay material from southern Tunisia was used as a low cost sorbent in a column-wise removal of metal pollutants. This is fundamentally important for a sustainable wastewater treatment strategy. This work has been performed within the framework of a project aiming to the valorization of natural geomaterials, from Tunisia, in several environmental applications. Column adsorption experiments were carried out for a better production of cleaner effluents and further understanding of the main mechanisms involved in the removal process, through a dynamic methodology, that would allow an industrial scale treatment. A calcined clay sample was used as an adsorbent for the removal o…