Synthesis, Characterization of NaA Zeolite from Blast Furnace Slag (BFS) via Alkaline Fusion and Hydrothermal Treatment

A blast furnace slag zeolite (BFSZ) material was successfully synthesized from BFS by alkaline fusion and hydrothermal treatment. Via the analyses of XRD, FT-IR, FE-SEM, XRF, CEC and BET surface area measurement, when zeolite was synthesized at a crystallization temperature of 100 °C with initial Si/Al ratio of 1:1, the main composition in the product is Na-A zeolite. Under the above conditions, the BFSZ was synthesized with CEC of 3.06 meq/g and maximum BET surface area of 37.55 m 2 ·g −1 . Moreover, the incorporating of BFS-derived minor metals (such as Mg, Fe, and Ca) are found to be of little importance for the synthesis of BFSZ. Thus the obtained BFSZ material has a great adsorption performance for removing Mn 2+ , Cu 2+ , and NH 4 + ions diluted in water, owing to the higher CEC.