Synthesis and Characterization of Faujasite-Type Zeolite from Kaolin Clay from Jordan

Kaolin clay sample from the Ordovician, Hiswah Formation in south Jordan, was used for faujasite synthesis. The process involved hydrothermal reactions after fusion with NaOH. The optimized conditions of faujasite crystallization were found to be at temperature of 700˚C, and time span between 72 h and 96 h. Faujasite began to crystallize from the kaolin after 48 h, and crystallization progressed with increasing time. The synthetic product has been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and thermo-gravimetric (DTA/TGA) analysis. The results indicate that the faujasite is low silica NaX-type with octahedral crystal shapes. Evaluation of the synthesized faujasite compared with natural and commercial faujasite in Pb removal from water reveal its excellent efficiency.