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<p>Groundwater hardness caused by elevated concentrations of calcium (Ca<sup>2</sup>⁺) and magnesium (Mg<sup>2</sup>⁺) ions is a major water quality problem that affects domestic, industrial, and drinking water applications. Excessive hardness leads to scale formation in pipelines, boilers, and household appliances, reduces soap lather formation, and increases operational and maintenance costs of water systems. Conventional hardness removal methods such as lime–soda softening, reverse osmosis, and synthetic ion-exchange systems are effective but often involve high operational costs, chemical consumption, sludge generation, and complex infrastructure requirements. Therefore, the development of sustainable and low-cost alternative materials for groundwater softening has gained increasing research interest. In the present study, a kaolin-derived nano-zeolite–rice husk composite was synthesized and evaluated for groundwater hardness removal. Kaolin clay was thermally activated through calcination to produce reactive metakaolin, followed by hydrothermal synthesis under alkaline conditions to form nano-zeolite structures. The synthesized materials were characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses to evaluate their chemical composition and crystalline properties. XRF results confirmed the presence of major aluminosilicate oxides required for zeolite formation, while XRD analysis exhibited characteristic crystalline zeolite diffraction peaks confirming successful hydrothermal synthesis. Hardness removal experiments were conducted using groundwater with an initial hardness concentration of 720&#xa0;mg/L as CaCO₃. The synthesized nano-zeolite–rice husk composite reduced the hardness concentration to 675&#xa0;mg/L through ion-exchange and adsorption mechanisms involving calcium and magnesium ions. The findings indicate that kaolin-derived nano-zeolite composites synthesized from locally available materials possess potential as environmentally sustainable and low-cost adsorbents for decentralized groundwater softening applications. Further optimization of adsorption parameters and composite modification may improve the hardness removal efficiency of the synthesized material.</p> Graphical Abstract <p></p>

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Synthesis and Characterization of Kaolin-Derived Zeolite–Rice Husk Nanocomposite for the Removal of Hardness from Groundwater

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月16日

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  • K. Anjana,
  • Lakshmi Nair,
  • Meetu R. Binu,
  • Daggupati Sridhar,
  • Sundaram Parimalarenganayaki,
  • Foluso O. Agunbiade

摘要

Groundwater hardness caused by elevated concentrations of calcium (Ca2⁺) and magnesium (Mg2⁺) ions is a major water quality problem that affects domestic, industrial, and drinking water applications. Excessive hardness leads to scale formation in pipelines, boilers, and household appliances, reduces soap lather formation, and increases operational and maintenance costs of water systems. Conventional hardness removal methods such as lime–soda softening, reverse osmosis, and synthetic ion-exchange systems are effective but often involve high operational costs, chemical consumption, sludge generation, and complex infrastructure requirements. Therefore, the development of sustainable and low-cost alternative materials for groundwater softening has gained increasing research interest. In the present study, a kaolin-derived nano-zeolite–rice husk composite was synthesized and evaluated for groundwater hardness removal. Kaolin clay was thermally activated through calcination to produce reactive metakaolin, followed by hydrothermal synthesis under alkaline conditions to form nano-zeolite structures. The synthesized materials were characterized using X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses to evaluate their chemical composition and crystalline properties. XRF results confirmed the presence of major aluminosilicate oxides required for zeolite formation, while XRD analysis exhibited characteristic crystalline zeolite diffraction peaks confirming successful hydrothermal synthesis. Hardness removal experiments were conducted using groundwater with an initial hardness concentration of 720 mg/L as CaCO₃. The synthesized nano-zeolite–rice husk composite reduced the hardness concentration to 675 mg/L through ion-exchange and adsorption mechanisms involving calcium and magnesium ions. The findings indicate that kaolin-derived nano-zeolite composites synthesized from locally available materials possess potential as environmentally sustainable and low-cost adsorbents for decentralized groundwater softening applications. Further optimization of adsorption parameters and composite modification may improve the hardness removal efficiency of the synthesized material.

Graphical Abstract