removal of pahs from n-paraffin by modified clinoptilolite

the ability of natural clinoptilolite and its modified forms were studied for removal of pahs from n-paraffin. surfactant modified zeolite (smz) was obtained by modifying clinoptilolite with hexadecyltrimethylammonium ion. homoionic forms of zeolite were obtained by ion exchange process using inorganic salts of desirable cations (e.g. ag+, fe3+…). natural clinoptilolite and its cation exchanged forms show small affinity toward pahs, due to their hydrophil nature, whereas smz removed more than 50 percent of the initial pahs contents of n-paraffin. the structure of zeolite did not change upon modification. regeneration of zeolite was performed efficiently with chloroform.