About the Journal
In Memory of Professor Jerzy Radecki
Ownership and Management Statement
Editorial Office
Editorial Board
Scope
Impact Factor
Indexed by
Journal Impact Factor contributing items
Publication Frequency
Revenue Sources & Business Model
Contact
Subscription
Current issue
Online first
Instructions for Authors
Copyright & Licensing
Publication Fees
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
CrossMark, Correction, and Retraction Policy
Archive
Publication Fees
Copyright & Licensing
Editorial policies
Publication Policy Overview
Peer Review Policy
Research Ethics and Malpractice Policy
Plagiarism Policy
Conflict of Interest Policy
Open Access Policy
Instructions for Reviewers
Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies Policy
Advertising Policy
Direct Marketing & Manuscript Solicitation
Digital Archiving and Preservation Policy
CrossMark, Correction, and Retraction Policy
eISSN: 2083-5906
ISSN: 1230-1485
ISSN: 1230-1485
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Comparison of the Efficiency of Low-Cost
Adsorbents for Heavy Metals Removal
from the Monitored Polluted River of Nitra
1
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences,
Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovak Republic
2
Fortischem a.s., M.R. Štefánika 1, 972 71 Nováky, Slovakia
3
Department of Geography and Geology, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica,
Tajovského 40, 974 01 Banská Bystrica, Slovak Republic
4
Institute of Foreign Languages, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 960 01 Zvolen, Slovak Republic
5
Department of Mathematics and Descriptive Geometry, Faculty of Wood Sciences and Technology,
Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovak Republic
Submission date: 2025-07-08
Final revision date: 2025-10-02
Acceptance date: 2025-11-24
Online publication date: 2026-03-04
Corresponding author
Juraj Poništ
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovak Republic
Department of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Technical University in Zvolen, T.G. Masaryka 24, 96001 Zvolen, Slovak Republic
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Pollution of surface water by heavy metals is a major environmental problem worldwide.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of natural adsorbents (bentonites from
the Kopernica deposit) with commercial types (zeolites of different quality) in removing selected
heavy metals from the polluted surface stream in the monitored area. The adsorption process of the
monitored metals was evaluated in terms of adsorption capacity and percentage of metal ion removal
efficiency. The surface flow in the monitored area is significantly polluted and does not achieve
the necessary water quality. The results of the research point to the high adsorption capacity of bentonites
for Hg, while zeolites showed this ability less and were suitable only for some of the monitored heavy
metals. The adsorption of zeolite of the type ZeoCem Eco Micro 200 (type C) is suitable for metals
in the direction from the most adsorbed heavy metal to the least adsorbed as follows: Sb > Hg > Cr > Cd
> Cu > Zn. As showed no affinity for adsorption onto zeolite C. The research confirmed the suitability
of low-cost adsorbents for the remediation of polluted water in the monitored area.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
REFERENCES (59)
1.
Ministry of the Environment of the Slovak Republic. Information on the status of monitoring of geological environmental factors with reference to impending accidents and possibilities for preventing these accidents. Available online: https://rokovania.gov.sk/RVL/M... (accessed on 4 February 2025).
2.
STANOVIČ R., KUJOVSKÝ M., VOLLMANNOVÁ A., ÁRVAY J., HARANGOZO L., BAJČAN D. Medziročné porovnanie obsahu ťažkých kovov v sedimentoch rieky Nitra. Nitra: Slovenská poľnohospodárska univerzita. 2017 [In Slovak].
3.
ANDREJI J., DVOŘÁK P., FIK M. Distribution of heavy metals (Ni, Co, Pb, Cd, Hg) in tissues of European chub (Squalius cephalus L.) from the middle course of the Nitra River, Slovakia. Advanced Research in Life Sciences. 2 (1), 16, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1515/arls-2....
4.
MELICHOVÁ Z., ĎURICOVÁ A., SAMEŠOVÁ D., NAGYOVÁ I. Hodnotenie rizík vybraných kovových prvkov vo vodách. Univerzita Mateja Bela, Fakulta prírodných vied, Banská Bystrica, Slovakia, 2017 [In Slovak].
5.
ARORA R. Adsorption of heavy metals - a review. Materials Today: Proceedings. 18, 4745, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matp....
6.
VRÎNCEANU N.O., MOTELICĂ D.M., DUMITRU M., CALCIU I., TĂNASE V., PREDA M. Assessment of using bentonite, dolomite, natural zeolite and manure for the immobilization of heavy metals in a contaminated soil: The Copșa Mică case study (Romania). CATENA. 176, 336, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cate....
7.
CALACE N., NARDI E., PETRONIO B.M., PIETROLETTI M., TOSTI G. Metal ion removal from water by sorption on paper mill sludge. Chemosphere. 51 (8), 797, 2003. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-....
8.
MOHAMMED N.H., ATTA M., YAACUB W.Z.W. Remediation of heavy metals by using industrial waste by products in acid mine drainage. American Journal of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences. 10 (4), 1001, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3844/ajeass....
9.
LEKGOBA T., NTULI F., FALAYI T. Application of coal fly ash for treatment of wastewater containing a binary mixture of copper and nickel. Journal of Water Process Engineering. 40, 101822, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwpe....
10.
ŠURÁNEK M., MELICHOVÁ Z., THOMAS M. Removal of cadmium and cobalt from water by Slovak bentonites: efficiency, isotherms, and kinetic study. Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 31 (20), 29199, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356....
11.
ALSAWALHA M. Overview of current and future perspectives of Saudi Arabian natural clinoptilolite zeolite: A case review. Journal of Chemistry. 2019 (1), 3153471, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1155/2019/3....
12.
JESENÁK K. Environmentálna anorganická chémia. Univerzita Komenského: Bratislava, Slovakia, pp. 159, 2005 [In Slovak].
13.
PFEIFER A., ŠKERGET M., ČOLNIK M. Removal of iron, copper, and lead from aqueous solutions with zeolite, bentonite, and steel slag. Separation Science and Technology. 56 (17), 2989, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/014963....
14.
FLIEGER J., KAWKA J., PŁAZIŃSKI W., PANEK R., MADEJ J. Sorption of heavy metal ions of chromium, manganese, selenium, nickel, cobalt, iron from aqueous acidic solutions in batch and dynamic conditions on natural and synthetic aluminosilicate sorbents. Materials. 13 (22), 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma1322....
15.
BAKALÁR T., KAŇUCHOVÁ M., GIROVÁ A., PAVOLOVÁ H., HROMADA R., HAJDUOVÁ Z. Characterization of Fe(III) adsorption onto zeolite and bentonite. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 17 (16), 2020. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph....
16.
HADŽIĆ E., BONACCI O., MILIŠIĆ H., ZVIZDIĆ D., LAZOVIĆ N. Watercourse recovery process - the role and importance of water monitoring. In Interdisciplinary Advances in Sustainable Development, TUFEKMEMIŠEVIĆ T., ARSLANAGIĆ-KALAJDŽIĆ M., ADEMOVIĆ N., Eds., Springer International Publishing: Cham, Switzerland, 326, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-....
17.
ALEKSANDER-KWATERCZAK U., PLENZLER D. Contamination of small urban watercourses on the example of a stream in Krakow (Poland). Environmental Earth Sciences. 78 (16), 530, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665....
18.
MEYER A.M., KLEIN C., FÜNFROCKEN E., KAUTENBURGER R., BECK H.P. Real-time monitoring of water quality to identify pollution pathways in small and middle scale rivers. Science of The Total Environment. 651, 2323, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scit....
19.
RYU S., NAIDU G., HASAN JOHIR M.A., CHOI Y., JEONG S., VIGNESWARAN S. Acid mine drainage treatment by integrated submerged membrane distillation-sorption system. Chemosphere. 218, 955, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chem....
20.
OLEGARIO-SANCHEZ E., PELICANO C.M. Characterization of Philippine natural zeolite and its application for heavy metal removal from acid mine drainage (AMD). Key Engineering Materials. 737, 407, 2017. https://doi.org/10.4028/www.sc....
21.
WULANDARI E., HIDAYAT A.E., MOERSIDIK S.S. Comparison of copper adsorption effectivity in acid mine drainage using natural zeolite and synthesized zeolite. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 473 (1), 012143, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1....
22.
ŠURÁNEK M., MELICHOVÁ Z., KUREKOVÁ V., KLJAJEVIĆ L., NENADOVIĆ S. Removal of nickel from aqueous solutions by natural bentonites from Slovakia. Materials. 14 (2), 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma1402....
23.
AL-ABBAD E.A., AL DWAIRI R.A. Removal of nickel (II) ions from water by Jordan natural zeolite as sorbent material. Journal of Saudi Chemical Society. 25 (5), 101233, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscs....
24.
GUMEDE S., MUSONGE P. Characterisation of Mg-Al hydrotalcite and surfactant-modified bentonite nano clays for the treatment of acid mine drainage. Sustainability. 14 (15), 2022. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1415....
25.
MOKGEHLE T.M., GITARI W.M., TAVENGWA N.T. Synthesis of di-carboxylic acid functionalized zeolites from coal fly ash for Cd (II) removal from acid mine drainage using column studies approach. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. 7 (6), 103473, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece....
26.
BUEMA G., HARJA M., LUPU N., CHIRIAC H., FORMINTE L., CIOBANU G., BUCUR D., BUCUR R.D. Adsorption performance of modified fly ash for copper ion removal from aqueous solution. Water. 13 (2), 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13020....
27.
CHANGALVAEI M., NILFOROUSHAN M.R., ARABMARKADEH A., TAYEBI M. Removal of Ni and Zn heavy metal ions from industrial waste waters using modified slag of electric arc furnace. Materials Research Express. 8 (5), 055506, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1088/2053-1....
28.
STN EN ISO 5667-3. Kvalita vody - Odber vzoriek - Časť 3: Konzervácia vzoriek vody a manipulácia s nimi (ISO 5667-3:2024); ÚNMŠ: Bratislava, Slovakia, 2025 [In Slovak].
29.
MU'AZU N.D., BUKHARI A., MUNEF K. Effect of montmorillonite content in natural Saudi Arabian clay on its adsorptive performance for single aqueous uptake of Cu(II) and Ni(II). Journal of King Saud University - Science. 32 (1), 412, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jksu....
30.
SHI L., QIU J., WANG W., DING Z., ZHANG W., LIANG J., LI P., FAN Q. Influence of cations and low molecular weight organic acids on Cs(I) adsorption on montmorillonite and vermiculite. Journal of Molecular Liquids. 402, 124778, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.moll....
31.
ZHU Z., HUANG Y., DONG L., XU W., YU M., LI Z., XIAO Y., CHENG H. Dual effects of NaCl on the high temperature adsorption of heavy metals by montmorillonite. Chemical Engineering Journal. 494, 152661, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.....
32.
KULDEYEV E., SEITZHANOVA M., TANIRBERGENOVA S., TAZHU K., DOSZHANOV E., MANSUROV Z., AZAT S., NURLYBAEV R., BERNDTSSON R. Modifying natural zeolites to improve heavy metal adsorption. Water. 15 (12), 2215, 2023. https://doi.org/10.3390/w15122....
33.
SAN T.Z., PARK J.H., WIN M.Z., DILSHOD U.L., OO W., YI K.B. Enhanced ammonia adsorption-desorption properties of synthesized zeolite-carbon composite with the effect of Si/Al ratio. Separation and Purification Technology. 353 (C), 128560, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sepp....
34.
EBERL D.D. User Guide to RockJock - A Program for Determining Quantitative Mineralogy from X-Ray Diffraction Data; U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, USA, 2003. https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr200....
35.
HORÁKOVÁ M. Analytika vody, 2nd ed.; Vysoká škola chemicko-technologická v Praze: Praha, Czech Republic, 2007 [In Slovak].
36.
STN EN ISO 10390. Zemina, upravené bioodpady a kaly - Stanovenie pH (ISO 10390:2021); ÚNMŠ: Bratislava, Slovakia, 2022 [In Slovak].
37.
BALINTOVA M., HOLUB M., STEVULOVA N., CIGASOVA J., TESARCIKOVA N. Sorption in acidic environment-biosorbents in comparison with commercial adsorbents. Chemical Engineering Transactions. 39, 625, 2014.
38.
MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC. Act No. 269/2010 Coll. on Waste; Collection of Laws of the Slovak Republic: Bratislava, Slovakia, 2010. Available online: https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne... (accessed on 4 February 2025).
39.
WANG X., YANG L., ZHANG J., WANG C., LI Q. Preparation and characterization of chitosan-poly(vinyl alcohol)/bentonite nanocomposites for adsorption of Hg(II) ions. Chemical Engineering Journal. 251, 404, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.....
40.
ĐOZIĆ A., ALIHODŽIĆ H., JUNUZOVIĆ H., ŠESTAN I., ZOHOROVIĆ M., AHMETOVIĆ M. Removal of As(V) and Hg(II) ions from simulated wastewater using natural and modified Ca-bentonite. International Journal of Environmental Agriculture and Biotechnology. 7, 178, 2022. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijeab....
41.
SENILA M., CADAR O. Modification of natural zeolites and their applications for heavy metal removal from polluted environments: Challenges, recent advances, and perspectives. Heliyon. 10 (3), e25303, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heli....
42.
FERNÁNDEZ-NAVA Y., ULMANU M., ANGER I., MARAÑÓN E., CASTRILLÓN L. Use of granular bentonite in the removal of mercury (II), cadmium (II) and lead (II) from aqueous solutions. Water Air Soil Pollution. 215 (1), 239, 2011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270....
43.
ÁLVAREZ A.M., GUERRÓN D.B., CALDERÓN C.M. Natural zeolite as a chromium VI removal agent in tannery effluents. Heliyon. 7 (9), e07974, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heli....
44.
MTHOMBENI N.H., ONYANGO M.S., AOYI O. Adsorption of hexavalent chromium onto magnetic natural zeolite-polymer composite. Journal of the Taiwan Institute of Chemical Engineers. 50, 242, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtic....
45.
BALINTOVA M., HOLUB M., SINGOVSZKA E. Study of iron, copper and zinc removal from acidic solutions by sorption. Chemical Engineering Transactions. 28, 175, 2012.
46.
CHOJNACKI A., CHOJNACKA K., HOFFMANN J., GÓRECKI H. The application of natural zeolites for mercury removal: from laboratory tests to industrial scale. Minerals Engineering. 17 (7), 933, 2004. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mine....
48.
KORINEKOVÁ M., HAVLÍK T. Odstraňovanie ťažkých kovov z roztokov sorpciou na zeolit. Acta Metallurgica Slovaca. 12, 208, 2006 [In Slovak].
49.
MOTSI T., ROWSON N.A., SIMMONS M.J.H. Adsorption of heavy metals from acid mine drainage by natural zeolite. International Journal of Mineral Processing. 92 (1), 42, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.minp....
50.
RUSMANA Y., NOTODARMOJO S., HELMY Q. Arsenic removal in groundwater by integrated ozonation and adsorption by activated carbon and zeolite. IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering. 536 (1), 012073, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-8....
51.
ĎURICOVÁ A., PREPILKOVÁ V.Š., SEČKÁR M., SCHWARZ M., SAMEŠOVÁ D., MURAJDA T., ANDRÁŠ P., EŠTOKOVÁ A., HOLOŠOVÁ M.Č., PONIŠT J., ZACHAROVÁ A., SCHMIDTOVÁ J., VEVERKOVÁ D., BIROŇ A. Comparison of Cu(II) adsorption using fly ash and natural sorbents during temperature change and thermal-alkaline treatment. Materials. 18 (19), 4552, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma1819....
52.
MORANTE-CARBALLO F., MONTALVÁN-BURBANO N., CARRIÓN-MERO P., JÁCOME-FRANCIS K. Worldwide research analysis on natural zeolites as environmental remediation materials. Sustainability. 13 (11), 6378, 2021. https://doi.org/10.3390/su1311....
53.
ABADZIC S.D., RYAN J.N. Particle release and permeability reduction in a natural zeolite (clinoptilolite) and sand porous medium. Environmental Science & Technology. 35 (22), 4502, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0018....
54.
WANG S., LI H., XIE S., LIU S., XU L. Physical and chemical regeneration of zeolitic adsorbents for dye removal in wastewater treatment. Chemosphere. 65 (1), 82, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chem....
55.
YIMRATTANABOVORN J., PHALAIPHAI M., NAWONG S. Pulsed-bed column adsorption for triclosan removal using macadamia nut shell activated carbon. Civil Engineering Journal. 10 (5), 1645, 2024. https://doi.org/10.28991/CEJ-2....
56.
KULIŠ I. Sorpcija Hg(II) na Fe(III)-modificiranom zeolitu klinoptilolitu - određivanje mehanizma sorpcije. Bachelor Thesis, University of Split, Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, Division of Engineering and Chemistry, 2022 [In Slovak].
57.
VELARDE L., NABAVI M.S., ESCALERA E., ANTTI M.-L., AKHTAR F. Adsorption of heavy metals on natural zeolites: A review. Chemosphere. 328, 138508, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chem....
58.
SANTIS A., ARBELÁEZ O., CARDENAS L.A., CASTELLANOS J., VELASQUEZ P. Optimizing Cr(VI) reduction in plastic chromium plating wastewater: Particle size, irradiation, titanium dose. Emerging Science Journal. 8 (1), 17, 2024. https://doi.org/10.28991/ESJ-2....
59.
NISAR N., SHAH R., ZADA F.M., KHAN B., AZIZ S., REHMAN N., AHMAD N., KHAN M., HANZALA, MIN H.S. Novel Ni/ZnO nanocomposites for the effective photocatalytic degradation of malachite green dye. Civil Engineering Journal. 10 (8), 2601, 2024. https://doi.org/10.28991/CEJ-2....
| eISSN: | 2083-5906 |
| ISSN: | 1230-1485 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
